


Courting Spring

by IlloustriousTaco



Series: Turn of the Seasons [2]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Homecoming, M/M, Screw that, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-10
Updated: 2013-09-19
Packaged: 2017-12-14 13:42:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 31,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/837538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IlloustriousTaco/pseuds/IlloustriousTaco
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Frozen Winter. </p><p>The boys meet their family, Aster is in for a few surprises and what does Sandy have to do with anything?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Snow Court

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter was supposed to be a short flashback to their introduction to the court... that's it. It rather spiraled out of control, but hopefully explains at least a few things and I did get some set up for later plans...

As the diamond dust cleared, two sets of blue eyes blinked, disoriented more than they wanted to admit when the wind settled down. They looked around, almost eerily in sync as they took in the area and situation they were in. 

Tall evergreen hedges were off to one side, creating a wall twice as tall as Jack, and who knew how thick, while to the other side there was what appeared to be a large expanse of gardens that led to a positively huge palace that seemed to be made entirely of ice, like an elegant glacier. The walkway between cold hardy plants, statues, and gazebos, was made of some dark rock that stood out from the several inches deep covering of snow on the ground. 

It didn't appear to be that they were in danger, but Jack still didn't drop out of the defensive position he had taken up while talking to the Guardians. He didn't trust this 'General Winter', and would even go so far as to admit he actually had no clue who the man was, which might not be so surprising considering that his clearest memories were of being Pitch Black's apprentice. 

“What. The. Fuck.” Jokul's words didn't startled Jack at all, but they did make General Winter frown as he looked over at them, a scowl lighting the old man's face. 

“You will not be cursing so much if you know what is good for you.” The old man growled, straightening his military-looking coat before stepping forward. “Hmm... Wishing had better clothes for you in pocket, but rags will have to do. Brownies will not stand for it, but Katya will not care. Come along then.” He started moving towards the palace, obviously expecting both of the boys to follow him. 

“Now wait just a minute! What's wrong with our clothes? And who is Katya?” Jack demanded, not moving an inch. He could feel Jokul next to him, also in a defensive position, and it made him feel slightly safer to have the other there with him. 

“And why the fuck don't you like damn cursing?” Jokul threw in, and Jack had to grin at his impudence, knowing full well that his fearling half would push any boundaries set on them. 

“First, clothes are practically rags, not suiting at all to sons of the Snow Queen, and is not I who disapproves cursing but your mother. Second, what, did you think she was born with name 'Snow Queen'? Katya is your mother.” 

The General sounded vastly amused, and Jack rolled his eyes even as he knew that Jokul was flinching. Finally, Jack relaxed, holding his staff in one hand as he grabbed Jokul's arm with the other, partially because he didn't think they were actually in any danger and he didn't want Jokul to bolt, and partially because he wanted physical reassurance that his other half was there. He was pretty happy when Jokul didn't pull away from him. 

“These are practically brand new- Santa's yeti gave them to me...” Jack complained, and Jokul laughed at him even as they both finally started following the old man. 

“Is still not suiting for Snow Prince. Brownies will see to better wardrobe, am certain.” The General chuckled, leading the way along the path through the garden. 

When he was done rolling his eyes, Jack took a moment to look around while they walked, knowing that Jokul was doing the same. The place was both beautiful, and kind macabre when he looked closely. It seemed like a third of the statues were frozen bodies of some kind, and there were all manner of creatures and people walking both on the paths and off. Bears, foxes, rabbits, even deer and birds of all kinds, seemed to mingle freely contrary to what little Jack had observed about nature when he was out and about with Pitch or on his own. Tall people and short watched them as they followed the General, and it seemed that there were primarily women with pale skin and long pale hair, done up in a variety of styles that ranged from seemingly very old, to rather modern. 

“Sooo... this is the Snow Queen's court?” Jokul finally asked, Jack sliding his hand down to grip his doppelganger's fingers, getting a reassuring squeeze in return. 

“Yes. Is primarily made of spirits.” General Winter grumbled, picking up the pace and the boys had to stretch their legs to keep up. 

“Do you have to go so fast?” Jack asked, though he noticed that they were starting to get a small following of the tall blond women, bears and small brown people. 

“Yes.” The General's response made both boys roll their eyes again, but they hurried to keep up anyways, very nervous now that there seemed to be so many eyes on them. They had never been around this many people who could see them, hell aside from their Master and the Guardians they had never been around people who could see them at all. 

It seemed like forever before they reached the front of the giant palace, which was even larger up close than it had appeared from near the tall hedge on the other side of the garden. It was as it appeared, made entirely of ice that seemed to have been carved out of one enormous glacier. As soon as they passed through the giant doors, it seemed as if the crowd following them dispersed into the palace, scattering, and though Jack couldn't catch what they were saying it seemed like all of them were talking excitedly in hushed tones. 

“Come... Katya will be waiting in study,” the General huffed, scowling as he led the boys up a positively huge set of stairs that met in the middle and continued up around the room. 

Jack could foresee that no one went without exercise going from one place to another around here, and he was glad that both he and Jokul were light on their feet. It seemed like forever, especially to ones who were not used to being inside of sprawling huge buildings, for them to reach the room that the General was looking for. 

He pushed open the door with little decorum, startling the woman inside, who had been pacing from one end of the large room to the other, or so it seemed. When she looked up, Jack's breath caught, and he heard Jokul's catch as well. She looked just like all of the blond haired blue eyed women in the garden, willowy and pale with her long hair bound up in an archaic style that drew attention to the gold and silver circlet on her brow, decorated with snow flakes and diamond gems. Instead of the large, puffy clothing of nobility that Jack though he had been expecting, she wore grey trousers and a flowing white shirt embroidered with blue and silver ice themes, and sharp heeled boots that came smoothly over her knees. 

While she looked similar to the women in the garden, her face was somehow more familiar, and Jack knew that they had seen it in their memories recently, before they were reborn as separate entities.

She didn't say anything as she stepped towards them, and Jack felt Jokul shift to just in front of him, protective and wary, and most likely sensing Jack's apprehension. It didn't stop the woman from drawing both of them into her embrace, cool tears streaming down her face much to their surprise. 

“My sons... welcome home.” Her voice was soft, and full of emotion, and though she was cool to the touch just like they were, both boys found something warm and soothing in her embrace, and neither had to think about it as their free arms wrapped around her, returning the embrace.

* * *

The boys hadn't expected to be mobbed by small brown people, aptly named brownies apparently, when they were shown to their room. Jack was still grumbling even as they were both pushed into a positively huge bathing chamber, half a dozen male brownies setting out supplies or trying to undress them, and it was difficult to resist because they were much stronger than they looked. 

“No... No and No, get out! I can bathe just fine on my own, yes I remember how baths work.” 

Jokul grinned to himself as he heard Jack trying to get the brownies to leave them alone. Instead of arguing with the waist high people, he had simply jumped on top of the tallest piece of furniture, some kind of cabinet, and was perched there, waiting for them to go away. They would get the idea eventually, he was sure, especially with the way Jack was pushing at them to get them out. They seemed to talk a lot like Norths elves, barely understandable, and only if he listened real closely, which he wasn't interested in at the moment. Finally the room was clear of all but him and Jack, and he looked down, grinning at his doppelganger who looked less amused wearing only underwear presumably gifted to him by the Yeti as well. 

“You suck,” Jack grumbled, still glaring at him, and Jokul stuck out his tongue, cheeky as ever especially since his other half was grumpy. 

“You're just jealous you didn't think of it first and there's not enough room for both of us,” he pointed out, lounging back where he was even as Jack shook his head and moved to investigate the bath tubs. 

“While you have a point, if I have to bathe and change so do you.” Jack's words were a cross grumble even as he tested the water in one of the tubs before sighing and slipping in, which meant that Jokul had to get into the other one. 

Rolling his eyes, the fearling hopped down, light as a shadow before setting aside his clothing and making his way to the bath. He didn't look over to where his other half seemed to be determined to get it over with as quickly as possible, dunking himself before grabbing for the bars of soap left near the copper tubs and making a determined wash of it. 

Agreeing, and hoping to be well done before the brownies returned, Jokul clambered into his own tub, using just a bit of their inherent ice power to cool the water from gently steaming to nearly room temperature. Much more comfortable that way... 

“So... what do you think of all this?” Jack's question was sudden enough to startle Jokul, but he managed not to drop the soft bar of soap he had been using. 

“The Snow Queen, General Winter, and the Snow Court?” Jokul asked, before shrugging and not looking up at Jack. “It seems... strange. A little too pat for my comfort, but if they're telling the truth it makes sense.”

“Laws and regulations... Do you really think Mother Nature was the one that kept the Snow Queen from challenging Pitch?”

“If that's what she said... sure, why not. Mother Nature is a scary lady.” Jokul shrugged, remembering his one and only meeting with said entity. 

“Oh yeah...” Jack shuddered, though he hadn't yet met the woman in question. “So what now?”

“What else. We do the 'presentation' thing tomorrow like the Snow Queen wants, then figure out what they want from us and decide from there. Don't worry so much, I can taste it from here.” Jokul growled. Curiously, he nibbled a bit on the dark emotion, trying to absorb it somewhat, though for whatever reason it failed miserably. 

“Won't work on me, Jokul... I've tried on you.” Jack's words only made Jokul scowl, though the ice sprite laughed at him, before jumping out of the tub. 

The fearling followed suit, making certain he was wrapped in one of the huge towels before the brownies he could hear outside the door pushed their way in, six of them practically swarming the boys and ushering them into the adjoining bedroom, much to Jack's amusement and Jokul's protests. 

“No.. Hey, wait! My CLOTHES!!”

* * *

Apparently being presented to the Snow Court was a big deal. Both boys could tell by how keyed up everyone, and they did mean every one, was. The brownies had gotten them both into new outfits, much to both Jack and Jokul's protests, and mostly with the help of General Winter himself. Jack huffed as he fiddled with the ruffled edges of his sleeves, the cloth having frosted over nearly as soon as he put it on. He and Jokul were dressed nearly identical, in matching blue shirts and gray pants, with knee high smooth boots that made his feet feel just plain wrong. His toes itched and if the General wasn't only three feet away and giving him the evil eye, he would have pulled the things off already. 

The only reason he didn't give in and try to take them off anyways was that Jokul _had_ tried that already and had gotten the boots frozen to his feet for his efforts. It was going to take days or even weeks for the shoes to melt enough for him to pull off, especially since it was so cold in the Snow Court. Given, most of the time it was pretty comfortable... unless you were trying to get frozen shoes off. 

“Remember, this is presentation. Follow directions.” The General didn't need to make a threat after those words, his evil eye enough to warn both boys, though Jokul stuck his tongue out at the old man for the hell of it. 

“Seriously, why am I here? I'm not a snow sprite, I'm a fearling.” Jokul was grumbling, and Jack laughed lightly, rubbing his other half's back to make him relax just a little. 

“You are Snow Queen's Son! You will be present at welcoming to Snow Court.” The General's scowl was nothing to scoff at, and that was being said by someone who had spent way too much time with the nightmare king. 

“We'll be good.” Jack promised, grinning brightly and nudging Jokul with his shoulder to make his darker self nod acquiescence. 

“Just hurry the hell up already.” Jokul grunted as Jack's elbow found his ribs for the comment, but he wasn't going to take it back, not that Jack really expected him to anyways. 

“Ah, hearing trumpets. Is time.” The General stated, moving forward and muttering last minute instructions. They would have been more useful if either of the boys understood his archaic Russian, but the general gist got through to them. 

Dutifully trying to at least look presentable, they followed their great-grandfather as he led the way into an enormous room, past rows and rows of people all appearing to be in their finest winter gear. Silk and fur seemed to be the primary materials of choice, but there were a great deal other things in play too. There was a rather large looking group of women wearing white feather cloaks, half a dozen youths wearing only fern tunics, one of whom had a wing instead of an arm. There were elves of all kinds, ranging from some as small as North's helpers to beings three times as tall as Jack and bedecked in finery that looked like spun spider webs. There were also a surprising number of pale women with platinum hair like their mother and light eyes, as well as a positively huge number of seemingly animals, from bears to deer to penguins and owls. It was a great deal for Jack to take in, and he knew somewhere in the back of his mind that he was only going to remember about half of this circus like event. Hopefully Jokul would remember the other half.

When they reached the high dais where the Snow Queen stood, today dressed in the flowing high nobility gown they had expected when they first met her and with her hair tamed only by her much larger than yesterdays crown, they turned and stood in front of her, just where the General had instructed them earlier. Jack was nervous looking out over the sea of faces, every one of them focused entirely on him and his other half. 

“Today We present to you Our sons, Jack Frost and Jokul Frosti, returned to Us at last after far too long apart. Let all the world know that from this moment forever forward, Our sons are Prince in Waiting of the Snow Court, Our beloved children, and Our precious Heir.” The Snow Queens words rang through the quiet room, and were met with a thunderous cheer as soon as she finished speaking, much to Jack's embarrassment, and glancing out of the corner of his eye he saw that there was glittering frost across Jokul's cheeks as well. It took several moments for the cheering to die down, every face in the room looking proud and righteous despite the fact that not a one of them had anything to do with either boy yet. 

When the cheering was done, they started coming forward and introducing themselves one by one and group by group. Jack did his best to keep smiling, but by the time it seemed like everyone who wanted a personal introduction was done, he felt inordinately warm especially for a winter sprite, and he knew that Jokul didn't feel much better. 

“Presenting the Highest Winter Authority, Mother Nature.” The stuffy looking majordomo by the door called out, the ceremonial guards tapping the floor with the butts of their long spears as the room fell silent and the door opened to reveal a tall woman with impossibly long black hair. Her features were vaguely familiar, but Jack knew he had never seen her before. He felt Jokul stiffen next to him, and without thinking about it reached his hand over to take his other half's and squeeze his fingers reassuringly. 

Mother Nature was dressed for the season, in a flowing white gown that literally looked like it was made of smooth, crystalline ice. Her black hair was adorned with winter blooming flowers and icicles, and her eyes were burning gold. She didn't so much walk forward as flow, moving like the wind or perhaps a ghost, and she stopped in front of the boys, watching them for several moments before she smiled, the look almost tender. “We greet you, Snow Queen, and the Heirs of your Kingdom.” 

“We greet you, Mother Nature, at your mercy and good graces.” The Snow Queen intoned, and Jack had just started to wonder if he and Jokul were supposed to say something when she spoke again. “We have not forgotten Our oath to you. We present our Sons, Jack Frost and Jokul Frosti.” 

“Good.” Mother Natures words were quiet, like a murmur though Jack was certain she was speaking out loud. From the looks of confusion from those behind her though, they didn't hear her. “It is good to finally meet your, Our Winter Herald. Beginning on the new moon, We shall come to you twice monthly to teach your duties to you.” 

The ultimate seasonal authority laid one hand on Jack's cheek, and the other on Jokul's, looking into their eyes in turn. When she was done, she simply dissipated into the air, a haze of diamond dust filling the room with bright light and leaving a layer of sparkling snow on everything and everyone. 

It wasn't until she was gone that Jack and Jokul took their next breath, both boys shaking as they realized that yes, they still needed to breathe even if it was hard to do under those haunting golden eyes.

* * *

The rest of the day, presentation, circus or zoo it was anyone's guess, passed very quickly, hours spent in the grand court room, then a few hours more at a positively huge feast. On the upside they had found out that all of the women who looked similar to the Snow Queen were their aunts, snow maidens of different ages, ranging from over a thousand years old to less than half of Jack and Jokul's age. 

“God damn it to fucking hell, how the fuck did he do that!” Jokul was growling and fighting with his shoes, determined to get the damn things off if it was the last thing he did. “Jack, get your ass over here and get these fucking things off of me.” 

“Shouldn't have tried to remove them in front of the General.” Jack said teasingly, and Jokul glared up at him from where he sat on the much to large bed. There were two beds in their room, both huge and fluffy and comfortable, colored to match the apparent themes that had been chosen for the boys. Jokul's side of the room was done in tasteful black with dark blue accents, while Jack's was done in white with bright blue accents. All very symmetrical. 

In actuality the white bed hadn't been touched yet, and probably wouldn't be for a while, Jokul reflected as Jack sat next to him, working on one leg while Jokul worked on the other, doing what they could to chip away or somehow move the ice. If it was normal ice, they would have been able to, even without Jack's staff which leaned on the wall near the door. It wasn't, and neither boy could get it to budge. 

“You were about two seconds away from trying the same thing.” Jokul growled in frustration, giving up with a loud groan and flopping back onto the over sized bed. It hadn't actually been slept in yet either, though they had slept in this room last night after the brownies had finished dressing them. 

“Too true. Glad you did it first.” Jack stated cheekily, not yet giving up. “So... we're going to be the Winter Herald.”

“Yep... apparently. This fucking sucks, and that woman was no less scary two days ago.” Jokul grumbled, shuddering as he recalled Mother Natures introduction. 

“I believe you.” Jack stated, growling himself as he finally gave up on the shoes and flopped next to Jokul. “New moons not for another week though, so we've got that much time at least to figure something out.” 

“Yeah. Good Luck.” Jokul snorted, rolling so that he was looking towards his 'twin', so that Jack could see his expression more clearly. “She is the original embodiment of 'force of nature'. I highly doubt we're going to be able to worm out of being her 'winter herald' if she doesn't want us to.” 

“Whatever.” Jack stated, grinning brightly and moving to pull Jokul to him, long arms wrapped tight around the 'fearling', and Jokul sighed, relaxing into his 'brother's' touch. “Doesn't mean you need to be so scared. We'll figure this out, just like we were already planning on, right?” 

“Yeah... right.” If Jokul's voice didn't hold as much conviction as Jacks, it was at least enough to satisfy the ice sprite for now as they fell asleep wrapped around each other.

* * *

By the time the new moon rolled around, both boys were thoroughly fed up with the Snow Court and their duties within it, primarily because their duties seemed to consist of staying in the same room as the Snow Queen, whether she was doing paperwork or holding court, and listening to various tutors throughout the day. They were both surprisingly relieved when Mother Nature showed up, though they were still nervous about being around the intimidating woman. 

There were a few soft words between the Snow Queen and Mother Nature, before the latter nodded, taking the boys with her in a disorienting shower of diamond dust. When Jokul and Jack had gotten a hold of themselves again, they found themselves in a snow covered clearing somewhere outside, though probably not in the Snow Court if the lack of the moon in the sky was anything to judge by. In the Snow Court the moon was always full, being one of the Fae realms and tied to the woman married to the man who ruled the moon. 

“We trust you are doing well?” Mother Nature said, a mischievous twinkle in her golden eyes looking rather out of place. 

“Sure... well enough.” Jack answered, and Jokul found himself nodding along, though he made sure to keep the ice sprite between himself and the intimidating elder spirit.

“Tonight, we will speak plainly with you. Your mother told you of her oath, yes? That her first born child would become my Winter Herald?” Nature's words were soft, like the wind, and both boys nodded, remembering that awkward conversation with trepidation. “Good. I will also train you to take up your rightful position as the new Nightmare King.” 

“What?” Jokul's voice was a surprisingly high pitched squeak at her words, shock racing through both him and Jack at this proclamation. “But.. the Nightmare king is evil... I'd rather not, thanks.” 

“The Nightmare King is a position that must be filled.” Nature's words were harsh, taking on the echoing tone of wind in deep caverns. “Fear is essential in the world, no matter what that old fool Lunanoff believes. You were chosen as Pitch Black's heir, and who more suiting than one born of Lunanoff blood?” The smirk on Nature's face was enough to make Jokul shudder, though Jack moved in front of him to keep more solidly between Jokul and her. 

“That's all well and nice, but what if we would really rather the position went to someone else?” He asked, impudent as anything and Jokul made a mental note to talk to him later. Impudence was Jokul's trait, and would probably get Jack killed just about now if he wasn't very careful. 

Mother Nature let out a harsh laugh, her golden eyes seeming to grow till they were all the boys could look at. “Then there are many others who would gladly take your place and become the new master of Nightmares, evil creatures who would use the power they gained to destroy all that is good in this world, powerful creatures who are already problematic to both the Good Spirits and your father the Moon Fool. Demons who would use the fear to corrupt the minds and hearts of the innocent that they may feast on all that needs protection. Pitch Black served his purpose, and though he was an evil creature, he kept his evil well in hand and aimed it where it did some measure of good even in his madness. You will learn to control fear and shadows, when to cull it, and when to encourage it, just as you will learn to usher in the changing seasons from fall to winter and winter to spring.”

* * *

Jack stood in the garden, staring up at the full moon, a positively thunderous look on his face as he communed by light with the being that was his father. Jokul couldn't bring himself to think of the Man in the Moon as his father, no matter how hard he tried, or how many times the Snow Queen told him that he and Jack were both her and the Moon's sons. 

It was hard, finding out that Jack could hear and speak to the person who was technically their other parent, who should have been just as happy as the Snow Queen was that they were around. Jokul couldn't understand a damn thing, and it was driving him crazy, especially when Jack got like this. He had been dragging Jokul outside for the last three evenings at moonrise, and glaring up angrily at the full orb hanging in the sky. 

The Snow Queen had told them that it was a great ship, hollowed out with machines and moon mice keeping everything in order. Neither Jack or Jokul had been there yet, though the Snow Queen had some kind of Doorway she had been going into to visit that place every night. 

It was more telling than she thought that she hadn't tried to invite Jack or Jokul along with her, though she had freely admitted to where she was going when they asked. It definitely didn't help that Jokul could feel kernels of fear in her, the fear that her husband would never again accept her sons. Jokul didn't mind so much for himself, he was a fearling after all, and he was training to be the new Nightmare King, learning to control and manipulate fear and shadows and dark dream sand. The little bit that he had stolen from Sandy had been growing, and he had found out how to form it into shapes and small fears through experimentation. 

He was toying with it now, as he waited for Jack to finish whatever he was communing to the great nightlight in the sky. Small shapes formed, from bears to birds to stars and less easily identified things at Jokul's will, but the easiest one was the form of a small horse. He was currently having the small thing prance in circles around him and Jack, enjoying the pun when Jack growled and grabbed his arm, finally looking away from the moon. 

“I take it it didn't go so well?” Jokul asked, wincing at the force of his other half's grip. 

“We are not that asshole's son.” Jack growled, and Jokul found himself impressed, letting out a small whistle. 

“Wow.. you're that angry. It's kind of cool. What exactly did he say to piss you off so badly?” Jokul asked, morbidly curious even as his little nightmare nuzzled into his frosted 'twin', gaining her own coating of ice that looked downright lovely against her black body. 

“Don't worry about it.” Jack's anger abruptly deflated, and he looked down, smiling at the nightmare. “Cool.. Night Mare... I like it.” 

“Yeah. So do I.”

* * *

They were struggling; it seemed like instead of getting used to all the attention they were getting, they were getting worse and worse with it. They were constantly around others, whether it was the Snow Queen and their tutors, or Usurus their guard bear, or Lyse the owl just watching them. If they were in their room, they were generally left alone, but otherwise they were all but mobbed every time they went anywhere. Snow maidens, their aunts every one of them apparently, were coming out of the woodwork still just to hug them and start babbling at them. Ice elves were always catching them in the gardens, explaining this or that piece of topiary. And the brownies were everywhere, making absolutely certain they weren't stripping out of the finery that the little folk had decided to dress them in that day. 

They hadn't seen the General since their 'presentation', but that didn't mean that the little folk hadn't gotten creative in their torture devices, using all manner of straps and ties to keep shoes on Jokul's feet, and threatening the same to Jack if he got out of hand, or as the case may be out of shoe. 

The boys had taken to hiding in their room, but it was still difficult, and they were both sick of being trapped in the single room instead of being free to roam without interference. It was showing in their deteriorating attitudes, Jokul becoming waspish, and even Jack who took everything in good humor starting to snap at everyone and everything with the least provocation. 

It was as the boy's were skulking in their room again that General Winter decided to hunt them down, walking in even though both sets of blue eyes glared at him for it. “Am thinking is time to talk.” He growled, glaring himself at where both boy's sat on the window ledge, Jack practically in his other half's lap and scowling darkly. “Boy's are not happy here, no?” 

“Not at all.” Jack stated, disgust apparent in his voice. They had only been here for a few months, but it was very obvious that the Court Life was not for them. 

“Then boy's should go back to Human world instead of Underhill.” Both Jokul and Jack sat up at that, eyes wide as they watched him, and the General had to smirk at their expressions. 

“Wait... we're allowed to leave? Why the fuck didn't someone say so?” Jokul demanded, all but vibrating with the idea, and the General had to laugh at his enthusiasm. 

“Allowed to leave? No, your mother will get very angry for even the idea. But even she must admit that you are pining, both of you.” He shook his head, slightly sad, but it had ever been his way to offer advice and comfort to his children and grand children while letting them take whatever paths they chose. He was still sad whenever one of his granddaughters decided to melt, for whatever reasons, but their lives were their own, and that freedom had to extend to his great-grandsons as well. “You are winter spirit. And not social one like Snow Maidens or Swans. If boys would be happier solitary... well, you will always be welcome obviously, but for now you do not have to stay if it does not feel right. So long as your duties are met, and your mother knows you are safe, I see no reason why you cannot roam the world.” 

“Seriously? What the hell are we waiting for then!” Jokul growled, grabbing Jack's hand and General Winter had to chuckle at their enthusiasm. 

“Do not be seen leaving.” He called after them, but they were already racing away, both boy's laughing in their excitement. “And do not forget that when you want it, you have a home among us.” He added more quietly, though they were long out of earshot by then.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Between real life facts that my hubby lost his job recently, work is being difficult, and I've discovered that when they call me crazy they do it with clinical terms because I'm either bipolar or manic depressive (might just be depressed though, we don't know yet... the doctors will be able to tell us more when I can afford to pay them.) this chapter was hell. 
> 
> As you can imagine, stress eats away at creativity like gingivitis. Its one am as I post this. Editing to be done when the words don't blur together like dirty lymrics.

Aster still couldn't help but be amazed at the frost boys, as he had taken to calling Jack and Jokul despite the latter's fearling appearance and powers. Easter had ended over a week ago, and though the boy's weren't active per-say, they were very busy, roaming here and there. There were a few freak cold fronts, but nothing that would be harmful in the long run, or even in the short run. 

Having decided to make certain the boys didn't get into too much trouble, Aster had taken it on himself to keep an eye on the boys when he finished his Easter clean up. It actually wasn't very hard to find them, all he had to do was show up on the surface and look around for a few hours and he normally had one or the other of the Frost boys tackling him. 

It did funny things to his instincts, but made them easier to keep track of. Not that there weren't other things the Guardians needed to keep their eye on, though other dark spirits seemed to have gone to ground while Pitch was acting up, there were more of them trying to come out and cause trouble now. The Baba Yaga were roaming Russia again, water horses were trying to make a resurgence in Turkey, and imps and goblins of all kinds were finding new niches in sweat shops and factories across the world with the dawning of a new industrial era. Although a lot of these malicious spirits had nothing to do with the Guardians charges, there was still a responsibility to make certain that they didn't get out of hand. 

A responsibility that drew him out of his warren at times like this, when goblins were running amok in a new weaving factory, where the goblins causing problems would be a threat to the children that ran baskets between weaving stations in the morning. It had already left one corpse half eaten in the basement, and Aster was determined that it wouldn't leave another. 

Tracking the little bastard was hard though, considering all this new technology that was similar enough to his own peoples to be jarring but different enough that it was giving him a headache. He just wanted to get rid of the goblin and get out of here so he could wait for the Frost boys somewhere more comfortable for everyone without worrying about a homicidal creature getting tossed into the mix. 

Of course, fate never did work out in kind favor, and his ears twitched, catching a slight scuffing in the shadows as he moved. Slowing to listen, Aster waited just a moment, ready and defensive in case the goblin got desperate enough to try something monumentally stupid like attacking him. 

All that his preparation meant though was that he was tense when the long formed lithe body launched itself out of the shadows with a haunting cackle, tackling him to the ground and clinging like a limpet. Looking down, and barely restraining his usual fighting response, Aster had to roll his eyes at the fearling boy wrapped around him and chuckling into his fur. 

“Evening Jokul... you do realize I was in the middle of something though, don't you?” Aster asked, trying to keep the exasperation out of his voice though he couldn't help rolling his eyes. 

“What? Looking for this thing?” Jack's voice came from somewhere off to the left, where he was holding something horrid looking up by the ankle. With fangs and claws and too large eyes and blood stains on its loin cloth, the little goblin was a truly horrendous sight to behold. It would have been far more worrying if it hadn't obviously been frozen solid, a look of fright on its fanged face. 

“When did... how did you flash freeze the damn thing? I've been hunting that crazy drongo all night,” Aster grumbled, glaring slightly at the offensive but now dead creature in the boy's grip. Oh some spirits could survive being frozen just fine and thaw out later with no real damage, but goblins did not number among them. 

“Stealthily.” Jack said, much to Jokul's amusement, even as the fearling finally pulled away from Aster after nuzzling his chest one last time. 

“It was terrified you would find it, which meant it was easier to find than most nasty shit.” Jokul explained, hauling himself to his feet and offering a hand to Aster. 

“You can still find fear?” Aster asked, somewhat confused as to which fearling abilities the boy retained and what he had lost. Every time he talked to the boy he tried to figure a little more out, though this time his only response was the boys' laughter. 

“Come on, I wanna go to the park to hang out, this place is just depressing.” Jack finally said, grabbing his 'twin's' hand and dragging him away, a come play look on his face as he motioned for Aster to join them. 

The Pooka only sighed, rolling his eyes as he picked up the frozen goblin, determined to take it somewhere else to dispose of rather than leaving it on the factory floor to cause nightmares for children and adults alike when they came to work in the morning.

* * *

It was towards the fall, and the Sandy had asked him to check into some disturbing rumors that some manner of creatures roaming at night, black horses with bright blue eyes chasing people in the forest at night. It sounded rather unreal to Aster, but he had also been fighting fearlings for a long time so ephemeral horses were probably at least plausible. 

As the humans liked to say, more things in heaven and earth and all that. Cautiously, Aster poked his ears out, listening for anyone or anything nearby, before pulling out of his tunnel. There was a town nearby, hopefully close enough to draw out the creatures he was looking into. The black horses hadn't caused any real trouble yet, a few scared younlings, but Aster didn't want to wait until there was real trouble to find out what was going on. 

No, better to find out what they were and what they were after before anything got out of hand. With his long ears listening carefully, Aster moved through the evening shadows, searching out his prey. This wasn't the first night he was out on the surface looking for these things, but Sandy said that the rumors and dreams of the strange horses had been strongest here for the last few weeks, and he wanted to find them before Jack or Jokul showed up because the Ancestors knew that he wasn't going to be able to focus when they did. 

Aster wasn't by nature a person prone to a lot of physical affection, but it seemed like both boys preferred constant touch. He didn't particularly mind, but a lot of the time he had to remind himself that there were certain physical reactions that would be extremely inappropriate. Every time, in fact. 

Even between himself and the other Guardians touch was something reserved for a quick hug from Tooth or a pat on the back from North, but the frost boys liked to take that a great deal further, clinging to him like limpets, carding their fingers absently through his fur, and the rare times he sat still while they were around, circling him like predators, like some manner of special treat left on the counter to cool. Needless to say that wreaked havoc with most of his instincts that hadn't come into play in a very long time, not since before the Pooka had been wiped out by Pitch, and even then Aster had been no great catch, too caught up in his work and being a good ranger to get involved with anyone romantically. 

Hearing odd sounds for this time of evening, the clipping of hooves against forest loam, Aster pushed the thought of the frost boys out of his mind, and especially tried to bury any idea of romanticism. They were just very tactile, their actions didn't mean anything more than that. 

Drawing his attention back once more, Aster stalked through the underbrush towards the odd sound. Horses in this area had mostly been replaced by the new and noisier automobiles by now, never mind how much Aster hated the things. What he saw was not an automobile, and wasn't exactly a horse either. In the darkness, it looked like shadow come to life in the form of a horse, huge with bright blueish white eyes that seemed to glow in the shadows. 

It was amazing and terrifying, almost like a fearling, but instead of being the odd, disjointed and warped shape of one of those horrible creatures, it was equestrian, with smooth lines and solid looking muscle under its dark hide. Aster didn't even realize that the black horse was chasing someone until the lad let out a terrified scream, tripping over something in the darkness and throwing his hands over his head to protect himself from the demonic horse, and Aster found himself pulling his weapons and launching into an attack before he consciously thought about it. 

It was a failed attack primarily because something cold plowed him over from the side, knocking him deep into the underbrush just as the black horse reared back to attack the boy with it's hooves... and disappeared. 

“Geeze that was close... don't attack the nightmare when Jokul introduces you to her, ok?” Jack said between giggles, still clinging to Aster even as the pooka finally turned his attention to his 'attacker', glaring at Jack darkly. 

“That bloody thing was attacking that kid. What the.. did you say nightmare? As in horse made from bad dreams and fear? Oh that's funny.” Aster grumbled waiting until Jack had pulled back fully before looking over to where the boy was still huddled, wild eyes staring into the darkness even as he pulled himself up to his feet. 

“He's scared to come to the woods at night now, and probably won't come alone during the day.” Jokul stated, walking out of the shadows and staring at the boy, who was actually a little older than the sprogs that Aster got on his holiday, being about fourteen or fifteen rather than say, eight or nine. “It's a pretty good thing that considering that there's a pack of wolves roaming not far off, outside their usual territory which got depleted and turned into a great big farm. Lots of cattle, but also lots of grown men with guns.” Jokul's shit eating grin had Jack laughing again,. 

Aster just stared at him, confused as he tried to process what the boy was saying, and taking into account the defensive way the fearling boy was standing. It seemed like he expected Aster to attack him, even though Jack had strategically positioned himself between Aster and Jokul. 

“Let me get this straight, the little hoon was wandering where he shouldn't have been, and you scared him into going back to the village using a black horse?” Aster just wanted to make sure he understood the fearling boy's rambling explanation, because now that he knew what that creature was and that the boy didn't have bad intentions, it was kinda hilarious. Might be why Jack was still giggling, even as Jokul nodded stiffly. “Oh... why a horse?”

“Nightmare,” Jokul stated, finally relaxing even as his grin got much wider. “She's a nightmare.” 

“He'll probably go and eat most of the kid's fear later to get more energy, but the kid doesn't need the fear unless he's doing what he shouldn't be, right?” Jack added, laughing again even as Jokul punched him in the arm, scowling darkly at his brighter half. 

“Huh... I get it. Not bad,” Aster stated after thinking about it for a moment, grinning at the pun and shaking his head. “Just don't get carried away. If you give them unreasonable fear or hurt them...”

“I know, I know, Jokul goes squish because Guardians get cranky about that kind of thing,” he stated, rolling his eyes. “Baby Tooth already gave me a speech about it.” 

“An expansive speech,” Jack added, making his own face about it, and Aster had to laugh at how both boys seemed rather put out. 

“Well... as long as you boys keep that in mind.” For some reason, Asters words bought the bright grins back to their faces, and he found himself with two sets of arms wrapped around him as they gave him an exuberant hug. “Alright, alright... what else have you two hoons been up to?”

* * *

For once, Aster was actively seeking out the frost boys, questions on his mind as he looked for them. The winter had been a mild one, unusually mild after the howling blizzards of the last two hundred years. The only thing that Aster knew was different was that Jack and Jokul were no longer under Pitch Black, but they had only been his apprentice for fifty years or so. 

Aster was near the North American town where the boys had fist shown up, and the entrance to Pitch's lair had been. Since no one knew much about the boys, it seemed like the right place to start looking for them. If anyone would know about the odd weather patterns, well at least the boys would know who to ask to get some real answers. They were after all in thick with the snow court if Old Man Winter was to be believed, dangerous entity that he was. 

The first place he could check, the only real place that he knew for sure had any meaning for the boys, was the lair. However, he was reluctant to open his tunnel directly to it again. He wasn't even sure that the lair still stood, but it didn't take long to find the entrance that Sandy had once used. Being mindful of Nightmares, Aster made his way down into the deep cave, long ears listening for any out of place sounds, though what exactly counted as an out of place noise in the lair of the former Boogieman? 

Despite feeling rather strange and like he was going deep into some natural cavern instead of some kind of shadow lair, Aster pressed on, eventually finding a set of steps leading down further into the labyrinthine darkness. If Aster hadn't been certain that he would be able to get out any time he wanted using his tunnels, he might have admitted to feeling a certain uncertainty about knowing his whereabouts. The twisting and turning tunnels weren't so unusual, but the odd spatial sense that he was traveling much further, or perhaps not nearly as far as he thought he was. 

Twisting corridors, stairs that looked like something out of an Escher painting, he was pretty sure that physics weren’t supposed to work that way. It was surprisingly simple to navigate though, once he realized that one direction was always colder than the others, though he could only hope that meant he was headed towards Jack and Jokul instead of one of their new... security measures. The nightmares were odd enough. 

He finally made his way to a familiar room, the great big one. There were a lot of differences from the last time he was here though. Most of the cages were in pieces, on the ground, and there was a great deal of ice and shadow sculpture. The only place he could think of that the boys might be... 

Looking up at the last cage hanging forlornly from the ceiling, Aster wondered exactly how he was supposed to get up there. It wasn't entirely hopeless, the cage was close enough to one of the walls with the weird stairs that he could conceivably have some place to stand nearby and look in to see if the drongos were in, but never had he wished he had the flight abilities of his fellow Guardians before. 

Mapping out the shortest sensible rout, Aster made his way up to the lonely platform, making jumps that would astound humans or the smaller leoporidae of this strange world. He was after all a rabbit though, and with a bit of a run, it wasn't as hard as he had feared it would be getting up. 

The sight that met him when he got up there was quite strange though. The air was cooler, not uncomfortably so, but definitely noticeable, and it was indeed centered on the two boys in the cage. The door of it hung open on its hinges, revealing that the sleeping forms inside were indeed there of their own violation, but it was depressing anyways that they were most comfortable sleeping somewhere like this, a cage on display, instead of somewhere like a comfortable nest, or even a human bed. 

Light and dark, long limbs wrapped around and tangled with each other, a pale face buried in dark hair, legs twined like a bit of space between them would be too much. Loosing his train of thought, Aster sat back on his haunches, watching his stalkers in their sleep. The cold never really seemed to affect them, but you wouldn't know it from the way they shivered, Jokul whimpering as he pressed his face into his lighter half's chest, the sound making the Aster's hackles rise. He wanted nothing more than to find whatever threat the boy was facing in his sleep and end it, permanently, but he had the feeling that the threat was already gone, damn Pitch Black to hell and back. 

“Crazy little hoons...” He murmured softly, settling himself in. He wasn't going to wake them, not for something that seemed so inconsequential now as an unusually mild winter, but he was going to be there for them when they awakened. It seemed really important right now to let them know they weren't alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think?


	3. Chapter 3

General Winter was upset, and they doubted that the Snow Queen was happy either. It was easy to tell; the bitter winter was starting early and getting harsh fast enough to make Jack and Jokul confused. They had barely had time to get their fall duties attended to when winter storms began brewing, and none of their power had the ability to slow or gentle the storms.

It didn't much help that the humans had started another war, this one spanning three continents. It had taken a while, but the war was in full tilt, and the humans were perpetuating horrors that both boys balked at. Jokul was sickened by the things that were being done, his nightmares going every night to the people responsible to show his own form of displeasure.

It was harder for Jack to show his anger at the situation, but there were little things they could do to make things better for those forgotten. Great prison like camps had gone up in a few places, and Jack and Jokul had started spending their time there, doing everything they could to make things better. The fear was so strong in these places that even Jokul couldn't eat all of it, though his power grew in leaps and bounds as he took all that he could from these helpless people. He used that power in turn to bring terrors and nightmares to the horrible human monsters 'guarding' them.

It was then that Jack discovered another facet to his power, tired of the fear and the anger and evil in the air, he began to form tiny flakes of happiness, which would give the children smiles and giggles despite their horrible situation. He could even make some of the less broken adults smile, which he considered an impressive feat, as worried as they were for their children.

Snowball fights and joyous times could be had in the snow while Jokul amused himself tormenting the guards, though with the oppressive atmosphere it never lasted long enough and Jack was careful not to nip at the prisoners with his frost since they had no way to warm up again.

It was different in other places, though there was no less fear and no less need for Jack to bring what laughter he could, but it was wearing on both of them. Their strength was growing in leaps and bounds, as they traveled from one fear-filled place to another, doing what little they could to ease the burdens of those merely caught up by the tides of hate.

Jokul really had it in for the dark-haired German man who had started it, specifically assigning one of his nightmares to torment him day and night, and he had plenty of them for the other higher ranking bastards who got off on the suffering they caused. With his power growing, so too had the number of nightmares he controlled; there was a veritable herd of them now.

With the boost to their power, the stale fear and the desperate way people needed to laugh, only Baby Tooth kept them grounded and taking care of themselves. A frequent companion over the last few decades, seeking the boys out when they were away from the Easter Bunny and had spare time, she had become invaluable in keeping them on track and taking care of themselves.

They had frequently had spare time, which came from doing their jobs right, but now things were way out of hand and it was wearing them to the bone.

Dusting the happy snow through the desolate compound, Jack frowned at the listless way that the starving children could barely laugh now; they just didn't have the energy. Thankfully, what energy they did have wasn't being used up by fear, thanks to his other half who was rattling the doors of the 'guard houses' outside the barbed wire fences and giving them sweet nightmares of being caught by their enemies and given the same treatment they were giving to their prisoners.

The sun was setting, and there wasn't enough light for people to do the back-breaking work their captors had them on, so they were finally resting. It hurt knowing exactly how many of these people and children wouldn't survive to see the morning. The answer was always never enough.

He was just forming another set of happy snow when the dizziness hit, and he stumbled against one of the buildings. It was confusing for a moment when no frost spread out from his touch, but the next wave of dizziness made the world tilt oddly and drove his previous thoughts out of his head.

He woke up an hour later judging from the darkness of the sky, and had a hard time hauling himself to his feet, looking around for what was missing.

“Jokul?” While his voice was quavery and wouldn't carry very far, he knew that his other half wouldn’t be far away so it shouldn't be a problem... probably.

Shaking his head to try to clear it, because even though he had slept, the world was still at odd angles, he set out towards his darker half, following that particular tug that always told him where Jokul was. He only made it so far before the world tilted too much. He nearly found himself face first in the snow again.

It was only not so because a familiar furry appendage caught him before he fell, though it took him far longer than it should have to realize why the gray fur was so familiar.

“Rabbit...?” His voice slurred as he spoke, and he tried to focus as he struggled to figure out where his feet were and why they weren’t supporting him.

“Call me Bunny.” The voice was annoyed, just the way it always was, and Jack laughed lightly as he was hauled along. “Baby Tooth is keeping Jokul in place. We're heading to the Warren as soon as I get both of you...”

“The Warren...? Why?”

“Cause you bloody galahs are munted mate,” Bunny growled, and Jack had to chuckle because while he normally could figure out what Bunny was saying, his accent was rather harsh at the moment and he was using more slang than usual.

“Muuuuunnnnnn-ted,” Jack giggled, trying the word out though he had no idea what it meant, and his head was spinning too fast to really figure it out.

“Ats right, munted. If a bloke didn't know any better he would think yez had been on a month long bender,” the rabbit complained, and Jack giggled again as he was dropped, fairly gently too, next to his darker half.

“Beeennnnnd-deeaaaarrrrr...” Jokul's drawl set Jack off again, the ice sprite and the fearling reaching for each other at the same time, fingers locking together.

“A'right... you hoons, lets figure this out...”

Bunny's annoyed words were coming from pretty far away, but the warm paws used to pick Jack up were so close. He found himself draped across the lithe leporidae’s back, his hands crossed in front of Bunny's neck.

“Hold tight, snowflake” was the admonishment as the Easter Bunny bent over, carefully picking up Jokul as well, and Jack felt his 'twins' hands moved to be in front of his face, clasped around the back of Bunny's neck. “You too frostbite.”

The words were gentle; Bunny was always so gentle, and soft, and warm.

He didn't have much strength in his body, the pressure in his head taking its toll still, but he lifted his legs up to wrap around Bunny's waist, pressing against Jokul's where his fearling half did the same. He didn't have to look to know that Jokul was nuzzling Bunny's front the same way that Jack was nuzzling into the warm expanse of fur under his cheeks. Soft, so very soft, the fur felt so good against his fingers, his cheek, his feet, and it smelled so good, spicy and warm and floral, like spring.

Despite being a winter elemental, Jack had always really liked the spring, enjoying the feeling of yielding to the warmth as time passed. It was always exciting to move forward in the circle of the seasons, especially when things began to warm up. He knew that Jokul focused on different things most of the time but felt the same way he did, because they were the same.

Carding fingers carefully through soft fur, Jack continued to nuzzle and smell the soft Bunny fur under him, lips caressing the fur and the form beneath it in gentle, open kisses that felt so very right.

* * *

Aster kept his moan to himself, biting back on the breathless rush of air trying to leave him at the heat sparked in his belly by the ministrations of his passengers. By the Ancestors and El-Ahrairah's mercy, the frost boys couldn't have any idea what they were doing to him, or they would be merciful and put an end to it.

Groaning as he moved down the tunnel, much slower than usual thanks to his cuddly burdens, Aster focused on things that would distract him from his current charges. He needed to plan out where to plant his googie flowers since it was getting towards the middle of winter, and he had to make sure that the chocolate googies didn't cross-pollinate with the marshmallow googies.

Pollinate... Aster’s mind stuttered to a stop, though his legs didn't get the memo and kept him moving towards his Warren.

By the Ancestors he hadn't thought that it would come to this when Baby Tooth came to get him and tell him that the boys were wearing themselves to the bone with the current world events. There wasn't much he could do at the moment, being tied as he was to a specific day, but soon enough he would be able to bring at least a bit of food to the sprogs in trouble, and keep hope from fading away for everyone caught up in this blighted mess.

It was bringing out all the lowest elements, all the spirits who fed on human misery were getting at least some kind of boost out of the horrors being committed by all sides.

Something soft and cool caressing just the tip of one of his laid back ears once more derailed Aster's thoughts as he took stock of where his charges hands were. Jacks were still carding through the front of Aster's neck fur, while Jokul's were running through the fur on his arms, tracing the gray patterns in his fur. Jack's lips were on the tip of his laid back ear, and those were his teeth barely gripping the sensitive skin.

And there were Jokul's teeth, only that was his collar bone.

Ancestors have mercy, this was not appropriate behavior on their end _or_ his and, mercy, all he wanted to do was return the exploratory touches and find out exactly what the boys had on under their clothes.

Considering both boys were suffering from extreme exhaustion, which could affect any spirit in dozens of different ways, and an energy up swing apparently because Jokul was trying to keep the humans fear tidy and from spilling all over the place. Aster didn't understand it, but Baby Tooth seemed quite sure that they had plenty of energy, they just couldn't focus it anymore - and teeth on his collarbone with nibbles on his ear.

Aster's feet finally got at least one of the memos, the pooka stumbling a little and trying to keep his footing as he finally emerged into the Warren, thankfully fairly close to his burrow; he really needed to get these two settled to sleep off their exhaustion.

“Baby Tooth... Get... get the door will...”

Aster had to bite back a moan as Jack's fingers found a particularly sensitive spot just under the thicker ruff of fur on his chest, immediately drawing Jokul's wandering teeth there, and it might have been Asters imagination, but it sure seemed like the fearlings teeth were sharper than his counterparts.

He was brought back to the here and now when Baby Tooth flew into his face, chattering and chirping excitedly, and not in a happy excited way but more of a mother hen way, but the little sheila wasn't slowing down enough so that Aster could understand.

“Right... right,” Aster shook his head, moving into his home and through all the other rooms to where his nest was nestled deep in the warm earth, resolutely thinking of nothing more complicated, or simple for that matter, than geology. It didn't distract him from the wandering hands and mouths very well, but it did keep him from getting so caught up in his passengers that he didn't get them to his nest.

“A'right you bloody hoons, time to put you to bed,” he growled, gently depositing the fearling first before Jack slid down his back of his own accord, legs obviously unstable as he continued to lean against Aster.

“Bed... already?” For a winter sprite, it was surprising just how hot Jack's tone was, and Aster had to gulp, even as he looked down at where Jokul was watching him, licking his lips in a way that made Aster forget that he was trying to get these two to rest.

“Join us?” If possible, Jokul's voice was even more come-hither than his 'twins' and Aster moaned, turning and maneuvering Jack down into the nest, setting the shaking boy down.

Shaking... they were both exhausted, and they were both over stimulated by all that fuss with the humans.

They were also young, less than a hundred years old, having spent at least fifty years with pitch and now a few measly decades on their own. Of course, everyone on this planet was younger than he was, but that was no excuse to get horny over children.

Gaping at himself in horror, Aster did everything he could to get his body under control, shaking his head and tossing a blanket over the frost sprites before he turned tail and ran.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who reviewed.
> 
> CleverCorgi did editing :3 Made it really good to read...


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1698- Jack is adopted by the Overlands.  
> 1712- Jack 'dies' and is reborn into his true form as a winter spirit. He's taken half an hour after his rebrith by Pitch Black  
> 1762- [SPOILER]  
> 1868- Pitch Black uses his 'apprentice' Jokul Frosti against the Guardians  
> 1923- Pitch Black makes a mistake and gets eaten by his apprentice, passing the title nightmare king to a new person, along with most of the power of the position. Part of the mistake means that his apprentice becomes two seperate but connected beings.  
> 1944- Chapter 3 of Courting Spring. (WW2 is in full swing.)  
> 2012- [SPOILER]
> 
> Additional Note: About the boy's ages. They've continued to age as a spirit. They still look similar to how they were as 'human' but they did get taller and fill out just a tiny bit so they do look like Jack in the movie, aka they look about 17ish instead of 14ish. They just age extremely slow as spirits and will soon reach the point where they stop aging all together. This is common among snow maidens who start off at about the age of 12 or so, and then age slowly while their human parents live, and stop aging all together in their early twenties. (In my head cannon for this at least....)

Pale limbs in a light blue shirt wrapped around the trembling form of a mirror image, ashen and nearly black curled in on itself, trembling in rage, sorrow, and an odd fear.

They were the Nightmare King, ruler of fear and all of its forms, but they also knew better than anyone that it didn't make them immune to the horrible sensation of the world dropping away because they had done something wrong, ruined some amazing thing.

Like their relationship with Bunny.

Gripping tightly to his trembling 'twin' Jack glared without seeing his surroundings, rage welling up inside of him and coating every nearby surface with a thick layer of frost. It was a very good thing his other half was immune to the cold because if he hadn't been he would have been in trouble too. As it was, both of them took comfort in the ice surrounding them, the wild ice not found in their mother's kingdom.

Why had Bunny rejected them that way? It obviously wasn't because he didn't find them attractive; Jack had felt him reacting earlier, smooth muscle and fur underneath his cool fingers, and he knew it was the same for Jokul. So what had set that look of horror and that particular brand of fear on the leoporidae's face?

Rubbing soothing circles on the back of his other half, Jack concentrated, reliving that moment when Bunny had bolted and the look of horror accompanied by the taste of fear, and he couldn't think of what could have made him so upset. He had run away though, and that was just something that was bad to do around predators of any kind.

Checking his other half, Jack realized that Jokul was out cold, no pun intended but definitely appreciated, which suited his purposes just fine. Resisting the siren call of sleep himself, Jack pulled away from his 'twin' leaving only the sense of cold and winter behind when he moved away.

The nest 'room' was completely frozen, everything covered in a layer of frost and ice inches thick in some places, but the rest of the odd home they were in didn't seem too affected by their sudden mood swing. Jack grinned to himself, keeping the frost he put out at a simple trail left by his fingers. He had left his staff behind with Jokul, propped up in the ice against the wall, and he had to keep such careful control of himself without it and without Jokul there to balance his power.

A single trail of frost, no more, and no less; just enough to reassure his other half should Jokul awaken while he was away, not that he needed to leave a trail. Jokul could seek him out just as well as he could seek out his fearling counterpart.

Bunny on the other hand didn't leave an easy trail at all, aside from the fact that the linear build of the home made it apparent that he wasn't inside. Traveling through sitting rooms and libraries, and what appeared to be only storage rooms, Jack found a kitchen with what seemed like the only door to the outside; at least the most obvious one.

The trail was a lot harder from there, the area around the entrance to the house being well traveled in all directions, and Jack had to cast about for a while before he found a somewhat fresh trail to follow. He wasn't a great tracker by any means, he would be the first to admit it, but at least he could get somewhere; hopefully, somewhere in the right direction.

Including the time after they met Bunny, but before their core was shattered, they had been here barely half a dozen times and all chaperoned by Bunny. They had gotten the penny tour at least, but that didn't mean it would be easy to find Bunny in all of this carefully cultivated wilderness. The Warren wasn't quite a deathtrap, not like the land above it, but there were security measures that Jack and Jokul had been introduced to in the past, ones he was certain he would have no problem circumventing if Bunny got testy. No, the real problem was the sheer size of the Warren; it was fully as large as the landmass above it.

Glaring, and focusing even more when he realized some of the nearby flowers were covered in a thin layer of frost, Jack set off, following the trail for better or for worse. Either he would find Bunny or he would end up searching for him until something else happened.

Jack wasn't sure at all how long it took him to search the path that he was following haphazardly, but eventually he came to a clear blue, pure river, a small one, flowing gently through a grassy meadow. And there was Bunny, sitting by the bank, half wrapped in on himself.

* * *

Aster couldn't believe himself, he was a pretty bad excuse for a being, given that he was aroused by the way the boys were touching him, and seemed interested in him. He couldn't give in and claim them as mates, even as short term, because that would make him no better than Pitch Black.

He could have kicked himself for not realizing earlier. Every time he saw the boys they brought some dead or captured evil spirit for him to take care of, and one of the other of the boys would tackle him, taking time to simply feel his fur or a friendly hug, it didn't make much difference from his side. The point was that they thought they had to make themselves useful in order to be around him, like they had made themselves useful for Pitch Black.

Only El-Ahrairah knew how long the boys had been being abused by Pitch that way, but Bunny would put his money on the entire time. An entire fifty years of being Pitch Black's 'apprentice' – a tool and sex slave to breed more fearlings.

It made Aster ill to think that the boys thought he wanted that, to use them that way, and the fact that his body reacted to them and did indeed want them made him feel even worse. They were beautiful, there was no doubt about that, and sensual was definitely one of the words that Aster could easily use to describe them, but they deserved better than a washed up old ranger for a mate, even if they both chose the same one.

There was no telling even if they would want the same mates. Among spirits, twins were rare and sometimes shared everything including families, while other times couldn't bear to be on the same continent as their twins, let alone share their lives.

It was even more complicated when you considered the nature of how they had started off as a fearling and an ice sprite in one body and become twins after their core was shattered in truth.

More than anything, that meant that Aster needed to keep his hands off and tell his libido to go take a hike. He hadn't had a steady lover in centuries, and hadn't wanted one after that disastrous fling with Dionysus. He was no one’s pet, an animal to be used for whatever his lover fancied and discarded when he was no longer useful.

He also didn't want to try to take a lover only to end up possessing them the way he didn't want to be possessed. It was extremely complicated and Aster wanted nothing more than to return to his nest and what had he been thinking putting them in there? Two gorgeous sprites who were witty and fun to be around even when they were pranking everyone were in his nest, sleeping on his pillows, getting their scent on his things and his scent on them. He wanted to claim to the boys, but that wouldn't be right.

Oh, logically, they were fifty years old, and a mortal that lived for fifty years would have been an acceptable mate, on account of being over their race’s age of majority. How the hell did one find out the age of majority, or even maturity, for a fearling? Or hell, for a spirit-born frost sprite, for that matter.

Of course, it might all be academic anyways.

Aster almost didn't notice that the water in his fur was getting really cold, but when he started shivering, he looked up and realized that Jack was there.

Jack did not look happy.

“Jack... you should be sleepin’-” Aster started to talk, but the water in his fur suddenly turned to ice, making him draw his breath.

“Why aren't we good enough?” Jack's eyes made Aster's mind shut down, as he tried to figure out what the crazy little drongo was talking about.

“I'm... I'm sorry, run that by me again?” Asters words were not steady, though that might have had something to do with the fact that he was covered in icicles.

“Why aren't we good enough. Is the thought of getting together with a fearling just that horrible?” The chill accompanying his words frosted over the grass and flowers in a five foot radius around them, even as the winter sprite stepped closer, the fury on his face like a knife in Aster's heart.

“Now listen here-” he started, but didn't get a chance to continue. Even as he struggled against the blasted cold to stand up and put himself at the usual taller than his companion height, Jack pushed him back, making him stagger a few feet.

“You listen! There's _nothing_ wrong with us! There's absolutely _nothing_ wrong with Jokul! You're _not_ too good for us!” Jack's words were shocking, and Aster couldn't fathom what was going through his head. There was no possible way he was understanding what the boy was saying, at least not right.

“Strewth! You think I... bloody drongo! You're sprogs, too young for the kinda things you're getting into!” Aster felt a spark of anger at the boy's assumptions, fueled more by confusion than malice.

That didn't seem to be the way that Jack was taking it though, if the storm in his bright blue eyes was any indication, or for that matter the soft snowflakes falling in the Warren, of all places.

“ _Too young_... we're almost _halfway_ through our _third century_ , and we're _too young_?” The chill in the boy's voice made Aster's fur dance on end.

Then what he said caught up to Aster's mind.

“You're under a hundred...” he said, but it was a weak protest to the new-found knowledge that he was wrong.

Two hundred and fifty years, a hundred and fifty years more than he had thought the boys had, which made him wonder why he hadn't heard of this spirit before Pitch Black took him.

“Is that what's upsetting you?”

If Jack’s voice had been enough to make Aster's hair stand on end, Jokul's was enough to make his skin crawl. He was going to go bald, his fur would run off to avoid any more of this crazy chill.

Aster didn't have time to turn to Jokul, and he was wary of taking his eyes away from the vision of fury that was Jack Frost, which was why he had no warning other than Jack's widened eyes and sudden shout.

“No! Jokul don't!”

For a moment, there was no pain, just a sense of something cutting through him, and when he looked down, several inches of black blade protruded from the front of his chest, the tip gleaming darkness before it changed, the shadow warping into clawing tendrils that turned back and plunged into his chest around the original shadow.

That was when the pain started, and Aster didn't know if he howled with agony or not, but he did know he fell, unable to keep himself upright, though surprisingly he didn't fall on his face. The last thing he saw was Jokul looking down at him, dark eyes impassive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally blame the Evil Authors Club. There are rules... and cliffhangers are involved. 
> 
> Please review while I decide whether or not Aster survives?


	5. Interlude One

Cool evening light was soft under the bright moon, golden threads of dream sand spreading over the world, from here to there and back again. The world was a big place and there were a lot more children than there used to be, but Sandy was diligent in his duties. However, things were changing; his dream sand wasn't the only thing out there anymore.

There were other things now; things that had to be taken care of and kept away from the children. It was primarily annoying, rather than dangerous, but that was enough for Sandy to take matters into his own hands. It rather helped that he was confident he knew the purpose and master of at least one of the new annoyances.

Jokul and his Nightmares. Sandy couldn't say he approved of the creatures, they interfered with his dreams sometimes, but he understood better than anyone; what they were doing, how, and why.

It hurt that Jack and Jokul were succeeding where their predecessor had failed. He had hoped that some remnant of his dear close friend still survived in the shattered psyche of the Boogieman and he had feared that some remainder of the other part of his soul was still within that mad creature. In a way, it was heartening to know that the Fearling Prince had taken his predecessor's place, putting an end to that tormenting question once and for all. Of course, that meant that, in another way, it made his little heart bleed every time he thought about it.

Turning his attention back to his work, bringing sweet dreams to the children of the world, no matter where they were, Sandy frowned as he realized that several of the dark horses were surrounding places already filled with misery.

If the fearling thought he was going to get away with taking what little comfort he could bring those poor children, then he was going to find he was sorely mistaken; Sandy was all but ready for a battle as he checked in on those poor little ones. What he found instead confused him greatly.

The children were dreaming, having nightmares all their own, streaks of black shadow that appeared in their dreams and were devoured by the Nightmares as soon as the children started to grow unhappy in their sleep.

Their job done there, the Nightmares moved on to the adults. They left one behind to guard the sleeping children and passed him by without a glance. It wasn't until they were in the encampment around the enclosed places of misery that they began to spread the fear they had gathered among the other adults - men who Sandy found to be deplorable human beings as it was.

Puzzled, and not at all certain that this would help more than hinder, Sandy shook his head. As long as the children were safe and their dreams cared for, his duty was done; this was no stranger than anything else that the fearling boy and the winter sprite were involved in.

Returning to his cloud floating far above the world below, Sandy pondered what he had seen. The way that the Nightmares had devoured the fear instead of amplifying it like they had done with the adults. Even if the boy was using the child fears to amplify the adult fears, he wasn't going to be getting as much power from that fear as he would if he had made the children more frightened in the first place. Certainly, there seemed to be more adults, but a child’s fear, or belief, for that matter, was, more often than not, far stronger than an adults.

It was indeed a puzzle and one he hoped to figure out soon. Transforming his dream cloud into an elaborate flying carpet, Sandy set off, determined to find the boy and ask him about this odd behavior.


	6. Chapter 6

Jack stared at where Jokul was cradling Bunny's head in his lap, both angry and relieved at this turn of events. Someone else was purely angry though and Jack swore as he caught the tiny blue and gold blur before she could crash into Jokul and break his concentration.

“Whoa, no! Baby Tooth stop! If you break his concentration Bunny could die!”

Jack's words were just barely enough to keep her from struggling away from his grip, making her pause and turn to him with her own look of horror, which was quickly followed by a barrage of questions.

“Yes, I do know what he's doing; no, I don't know why... well... maybe.”

Jack swallowed past the lump in his throat as he approached his other half and the object of their affections. Watching the look of concentration on Jokul's face and the blank look of terror on Bunny's was painful.

“He hurt Jokul. I thought he meant to,” Jack explained softly as he cradled Baby Tooth to his chest for comfort, bowing his head and hoping that she wouldn't see the liquid that turned to ice as it left his face. His tears would eventually melt. “He hurt me too...”

Baby Tooth gave a wordless croon to comfort him, her tiny hands petting his chest, before she asked a few more questions, and Jack laughed mirthlessly.

“He rejected us.”

The answer to that was a resolute response that stabbing someone was not a good way to deal with rejection.

Jack nodded and watched both Jokul and Bunny to see what would happen next, wondering whether Jokul would draw their would-be lover out of this state or turn him into a fearling.

* * *

He was running, he was tiny and young, and the underbrush was thick, but he had to run. If he didn't, the arvo-wolf would eat him. He was too far from his parents’ camp to make it back easily and perfectly small enough to make a good snack for the enormous predator. He ran, bounding and bouncing, hoping that the creature fully big enough to take on an adult would leave him be if only he got far enough away.

The darkness was all encompassing, no light penetrating the cacophony of nothing all around. It was like noise and emotion and darkness all in one, so loud that nothing came through, nothing reached him, he was alone and he didn't want to be alone.

The battle raged all around, pure chaos in motion, destruction on every end. Those that wore armor had little of it left, and that was battered and blood stained all. Bodies littered the field, bodies of friends, bodies of family, and bodies of those he knew barely in passing. They were dead or dying, though that was a mercy to the alternative.

His little heart was racing, all four paws racing along the ground, over and under different obstacles, trying his best to keep the predator from devouring him. He didn't want to die, he didn't want to be eaten, all he wanted was to get back to his parents, to cower in his mother's arms while his father used his weapons to defeat the great canine. There was no way back to the camp from here though, and he had no idea where he was. He knew only that the arvo-wolf would soon devour him.

The shadow looming over him instilled a sense of awe and obedience. It gave pain, it gave brief respite, it tantalized with the promise of a prize, it was cruel and careless.

So very alone, the gaping need and want and hate for all that wasn't alone, devour and rend what could not be made as desperately lonely as he was. Devour and rend and destroy and more all again and again and again, that was all he wanted and it was just so easy to sink claws and fangs and magic into flesh and devour and change. The best way not to be alone was to make more like him.

Its teeth were longer than the knuckles on his paws and its jaws big enough to snap a little jack like him in half. Its furry pelt was dark gray with red markings, and it had great sharp claws as well, though they were more for running than attacking, much like his own claws. It was going to devour him, snap him in half in two quick bites and no one would ever know what had happened to him.

He worked hard, so very hard, doing everything he could for even a crumb of affection from the looming shadow. He would fight and destroy its enemies, he would debase himself in terrible ways for its amusement, he would do anything at all to be acknowledged and loved. All he wanted, all he lived for, all he could dream of was pleasing the great shadow, it was his life and it was his only goal.

Everyone was fighting for their lives, everyone was dying. They were overwhelmed, they were outnumbered, they were unable to survive this particular hell hole. He was covered in blood, some of it his own, some of it the inky pollution of their enemies, but most of it belonging to his loved ones or allies. No matter how hard he tried to save their lives, any lives, it wasn't enough, he couldn't stabilize them before having to defend himself and those he tried to help from the abominations cutting through their ranks like a scythe through wheat.

The only reward for hard work was pain and humiliation, but at least it was a scrap of attention, far more than he deserved, far less than he needed. It always hurt, a deep ache like he was doing something wrong, like he was doing everything wrong. It knew of his need though, and the Shadow could only laugh at him and his desire to please it.

The camp was awash in blood, some belonging to the arvo-wolves, some belonging to their pooka prey. They were all dead, his parents, his aunts and uncles, everyone in the camp was gone, the arvo-pack looking up from their feasts as he ran into the clearing, bloody grins on their canine faces as they looked to new prey. But they didn't move to attack him, they didn't need to. He turned, just in time for the one chasing him to bear down on him, giant jaws snapping his spine and sending jolts of pure agony through his body, even as the creature shook him then dropped him like a limp rag doll.

His tendrils and his power ripped into them, changing them, making him not alone, but he was still so very very alone. They were like him now, no longer different, but he hated them with everything in him. They were his allies, but he did not like them. No, if he wanted more like him, someone to be not-alone with, he needed to change and destroy and rend more until he found what he wanted.

They were all dead, gone and beyond help or censure. Standing in the battle field, he was the only one left, and he couldn't bear it, he didn't want to be the last one, couldn't bear being alone that way, not again. Throwing down his weapons, he waited for claws and cruelty to rend him and end him.

He looked around to those he had changed to be like himself; red and black, blue and green, gold and yellow... all corrupted and changed and dark and looking for more to make like themselves.

His weapons were down, his vitals exposed. He was surrounded, and by all rights he should be dead. Instead they laughed at him, taunting him and telling him he was useless, before turning away, leaving him alive when all he loved, all he cared for, was dead.

He was still alive, and though he couldn't feel anything as its jagged teeth tore into his belly, he could see it still, eating him and not even having the mercy to kill him like his family was dead. He was no threat, a tiny jack instead of a grown warrior, and he was crippled and dying, but he wasn't dead. All he could do was watch as he was devoured.

Through the pain and tears he looked up, into the eyes of the tormenting shadow, the one that teased and taunted hatefully. He knew who this was now, this hateful callous person was himself.

* * *

Jokul took a shaking breath, watching Bunny's green eyes intently even as he slowly, carefully withdrew his power from the psyche and soul of the one they wanted as a mate.

“I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry. Please, please forgive me,” he whispered, over and over again, even as he felt Jack's hands settle next to his, helping him manipulate the shadows the same way he helped his other half manipulate his ice sometimes.

“What did you do Jokul?” Jack's voice was shaking, and Jokul could tell it was one part rage, two parts fear, and three parts confusion.

“I had to know.”

Jokul's words were quiet, even as he was so very careful about removing all of his fearling taint. The last thing he wanted was to slip and let Bunny become a fearling, the Pooka would end up killing himself if that happened, or at least trying. Some small babbling part in his mind was laughing about the fact that Jack probably wouldn't allow it and another part was upset about that particular fear because _he_ was a fearling. It was an old fear though, much, much older than Jack and Jokul, older perhaps than their world if he had read the flow of fears correctly.

He was still inexperienced, he didn't know everything, and there were so many abilities he had that he had never had the need or desire to explore.

“Had to know what?” Jack's voice was soft, soothing even, though Jokul could taste his other half's fear. “Does he...”

Jokul shook his head even as Jack's voice trailed off, a soft laugh burbling out of him. “No... he's afraid of hurting us. That was his horror, that was what made him run.”

He was so happy, a happiness echoed in his other half and shared between them as they cleared the last of the shadow out of Bunny. He would wake up now and they would tell him that his fears were unfounded, that they wanted him, they loved him. The more time they spent with him, the more time they wanted to spend with him, hunting down evil things, making him smile in pride, touching and tasting and smelling him.

But he wasn't waking up.

Jokul checked for trace of his shadows again, knowing that he had sealed the soul wound behind him as he withdrew. He couldn't feel any more fear in Bunny, he knew he had caused a lot as he searched through Bunny's fears, but he had eaten it as he withdrew his attack. There was nothing else tying Bunny to the nightmare that Jokul had incited and then taken away.

So why wasn't he awakening? Confused, scared, and lost, he looked up at his twin, meeting a mirroring expression of terror.

What had they _done_ and how could they fix it?

* * *

Sandy shuddered, hurrying as he raced towards the disturbance, hoping and wishing that he wouldn't be too late. He didn't know what had happened, only that there was something horribly wrong, a sense of darkness where there should be life and light.

The entrance to the Warren was well hidden, guarded well beneath scarlet sands and rock, but his sand-carpet took him to it quickly. On the way, something small and golden and green smacked into him; Baby Tooth babbled at him incoherently as she tried to explain what she had seen and what was happening now.

They needed help, all three of them needed help right now, otherwise she was certain they wouldn't survive.

When he reached the grassy fields, Sandy quickly zeroed in on the sense of wrongness, looking in horror at what had been done.

Jack and Jokul sat cradling Bunny in their laps, tears running down their faces as they stroked Bunny's fur and whispered between themselves, trying to wake him up.

Bunny wasn't sleeping though.

As the master of sleep and dreams, Sandy could tell. He could also tell that the only reason Bunny was still breathing was that the boys had somehow tethered his life force to theirs. That was dangerous, so very dangerous for all three of them.

_What did you do?_ Sandy asked, approaching carefully even as two tear stained sets of eyes turned to him.

“I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, I had to know and I didn't realize this would... I'm so sorry...” Jokul's words were nigh incoherent, a babble of remorse and fear even as Sandy moved closer and checked the links he could feel between the three.

The link between Jack and Jokul was strongest of course, they shared a single soul after all, but the link between them and Bunny was also surprisingly strong. Perhaps even strong enough.

_I can help. He's not gone yet, you're holding him here well. But he's trying to slip away. You have to bring him back. Can you do it?_ Sandy was certain that they boys would be willing, and he hid any uncertainty that they would be able. They had to be able, there was no way he could bear to lose all three of them, his good friend and the heirs of other old friends.

“Yes... yes we can.” Jack's voice was nearly as unstable as his 'twins' but he didn't back down, bright blue eyes determined behind the fear.

Sandy's dream sand enveloped all three of them, wrapping them tight in a cocoon of power and using the bonds already there to tie them tighter together.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, another round of thanks to CleverCorgi for editing, making it easier on the brain and eyes for reading. 
> 
> Second, and pretty important, I hate writing dream sequences. That's all there is to it. Because I can't do dreams well, (No I didn't like what I wrote out for Aster's nightmare, but it came out alright anyways.) its taken me a little longer than I expected to get this chapter written. 
> 
> Third and final, the name of the series is changing to Turn of the Seasons, instead of Kingdom of Snow and Shadow due to the characters developing in unexpected ways. 
> 
> That said, enjoy the new chapter!

He was ill, he didn't know how or why, and he had no clue what had happened to him, but he did know that he was sliding between fever dreams, true sleep, and waking with alarming frequency. He was also wounded, there was a constant sharp burning pain in his chest telling him so every time he took a breath, although smaller wounds, scratches, bruises and general discomforts also made themselves known.

On top of all of that he was cursed hot, though from the touch of cool cloth along his forehead, someone was trying to make him more comfortable. Blinking bleary eyes open, he tried to focus on the person leaning over him, but he had to give up with a groan as a sharp and sudden pain decided to start behind his eyes in displeasure at said ocular organs being used. All he got was a soft murmur that sounded far away and a glimpse of pale blue eyes before slumber once more claimed him.

The next time he drifted towards consciousness there were more voices murmuring, a woman and a boy if his ears were to be believed. Trying to once more harangue his eyes into cooperating, he opened them, looking around gingerly. He could feel another fierce headache threatening, and he didn't want to pass out again from the pain.

Once his vision cleared slightly, he could make out that he was inside of some manner of tent, the cloth walls curving around to form what seemed to be a small pavilion, and he wondered for a moment if he had passed out last time because his eyes tried to reject the riot of color all around. There was nothing in his immediate field of vision, which was primarily up at the moment, that wasn't dyed, stained, or decorated in bright colors.

Looking down at himself carefully, he saw that plain linen bandages were covering most of his chest and arms, and the tanned flesh not covered in bandages was dark with fading bruises. Yellow and dark blue and in some places the skin looked green almost.

The lower half of his body was covered by a thin sheet of more brightly colored and dyed material, but it felt as if he had at least a set of small clothes to keep him modest if he needed to move. Which might be a good thing he gathered, looking over at where a tall woman with flowing black hair and two youths were looking at him from the other side of the tent.

“Your awake. About time,” the woman stated, her features cast in a look of disapproval more than anything. “My sons said they found you down a gully and made an argument for getting you healed and back on your feet.”

Licking his parched lips, he looked at the boys with her, two not one like he had thought listening earlier, and nodded. “I'm right grateful, madam.”

“Then you'll tell us what you were doing this far into Roma territory,” her voice was clipped and obviously unhappy, her gold eyes flashing with annoyance and anger and a host of emotions that he just didn't recognize, just like he didn't recognize the word she used.

“Roman?” he asked, his brow furrowing as he wondered what she was talking about. “Mighty apologetic ma'am, but I don't rightly know what you’re talking about.”

Her narrowed eyes made him sweat, but he was telling the truth, he had no idea what Roma was, let alone how he ended up in their territory. He had the vague certainty that he was doing something, something important, but he didn't know what.

“Its probably that bump on his noggin, mother,” one of the boys stated, the one with pale hair that was almost silver, his bright blue eyes scrunched up in concern.

“Seriously, that's as good an explanation as any. Better than some even, and judging from his gear, he's just some lost woodsman.” The other boy said, a darker mirror image of the first, with black hair and darker eyes in the same hue. “What's your name?” He asked, moving deeper into the tent and closer to the injured man.

Frowning because the questions brought all kinds of uncertainty to the surface, the man lifted one hand, absently noting that there were bandages from thumb to elbow on it, and rubbed at his head, thinking hard as he tried to figure out what his name was.

“Aster...?” he answered hesitantly. It sounded right, but he wasn't sure he would respond to it, as it didn't sound familiar.

“Aster... I like it,” the dark haired boy said, grinning even as his pale brother chuckled. “I'm Jokul and this is my twin, Jack. Our mother, Sera, is the herb woman for our caravan.”

“Nice to meet you, Aster,” Jack said, bounding close and standing next to his twin, and Aster had to blink as he realized that they really were like mirror images of each other, one pale and one dark. The hesitation must have shown on his face because their mother snorted derisively as she looked at him, but the boys didn't seem to take it amiss.

“I'm not albino, I don't burn in the sun but I don't darken either,” Jack said, his tone one of great amusement, though his brother chuckled at that.

“Nope... I'm the one who burns... its just not fair I tell you. So, do you know where you are or where you were last?” he asked, obviously curious as a bag of kittens.

“No.. I can't for the life of me recall anything other than wakin’ up a little while ago, then wakin’ up now,” Aster stated, annoyed with himself, like he ought to know exactly what was going on. It was all just out of his reach, and he frowned, trying to dredge up anything at all. “Why's it all a blank?”

“Dunno... sometimes that happens with head bumps,” Jack stated, shrugging carelessly before his twin took up the thought.

“Nick lost a whole week that way when he fell and took a bump to the head then couldn't find his way back to camp. We almost had to leave without him.”

“That's enough. Let the stranger rest, you two have chores anyways,” Sera stated from the doorway, and both boys grinned at her cheekily before saying their goodbyes, and all three of them left the tent.

* * *

It took a few more days before Aster had healed enough to be stable on his feet and by then he had worked out that the folks who had taken him in were some kind of nomads. They were a small Roma group, headed by a formidable woman with the same coloring as Jack, pale hair and light blue eyes. She didn't look much like the dark-haired, golden-eyed woman who was the boys' actual mother, but she resembled one of them enough that she could have passed as his mother.

Aster had the odd feeling that he ought to have known who both of these women were, but he had no clue why.

On the first day that Aster was able to wander around outside of the tent he had awoken in, he ended up not going much further than the tent flap, finding a small stool set there for some unknown purpose. He was listless as he watched men and women bustle around the camp, gathering this or that and doing such and such chores. It seemed like everywhere he looked there was someone busy with something. It appeared that most of the men were trappers of some kind, and the women worked on gathering all manner of plants out of the surrounding forest.

Even as Aster watched, a man came by with a brace of small, soft-looking creatures whose furs were obviously meant to be tanned, while the meat would likely end up smoked for storage or in the supper pot.

Other small creatures were being brought in in woven cages, small furry things and brightly colored songbirds. It all seemed a little surreal, but only in the fact that Aster didn't know what to do with himself, or even where he was or why he was here. He had only been sitting outside for a few moments and looking around, but already the glares and hostile looks from the others were making him wish he had stayed in the tent instead of looking for fresh air.

“Heya bun-bun.”

Aster looked up as a familiar voice addressed him, and he smiled warmly at the two boys approaching him.

“You're feeling better right? Want to come with us as we get the water for evening meal?”

Jack's enthusiasm was catching and Aster found himself grinning brightly as he pulled himself to his feet. His wounds did not pain him much as he followed the chattering boys, keeping an eye on the others of the group; the boys didn't seem to care about the glares leveled their way, or, more accurately, at Aster.

The boys kept up a light banter between themselves as they walked and Aster had to grin at the byplay, though they made at least some effort to include him in their conversation. It felt nice, comfortable, and, even though he wasn't able to add much, he learned a lot about the boys and the caravan and their complicated family situation.

When they arrived at a small, cool clearing by the banks of a placid river, the boys urged Aster to take a seat on one of the huge, moss covered rocks that littered the ground around here.

“So when does the caravan move?” Aster found himself asking, curious about these strange people who had apparently rescued him.

“Not for a while yet,” Jack stated, grinning as he leaned against the rock Aster was sitting on. “We usually stay camped for about a moon at a time. We travel for the three days the moon is full, and the moon’s barely started to wane since we settled in.”

“Which means we have plenty of time to get our work done,” Jokul grinned as he leaned against Aster’s other side, dropping a friendly arm around the older man's shoulders.

“Oh? What is your work?” he asked curiously, wondering exactly what the boys did in their group.

“Oh... painting, sculpting, wood working, that manner of thing, in between little things like hauling water, weaving traps and such.”

Jack's answer was flippant, but the look in his eyes as he watched Aster was not; Aster found that he was interested despite himself.

“What do you paint?” he asked, his fingers suddenly twitching with the need for some manner of paintbrush or pencil. It wasn't quite a memory, just the certainty that he made some of his own living with skills in art.

“Oh... you'll see,” Jokul purred, leaning against him, and Aster chuckled, though he pushed back the little bit of unease in his belly at how tactile the boy was being. It seemed they were always touching each other; they were probably just quite tactile.

* * *

Aster's healing was going quickly and well and the boys had finally removed his bandages for good a few days later. It felt good to let the wind and air ruffle through his fur. His long ears twitched as he heard Jack and Jokul approaching, and he turned, looking over the youths with a grin. No one else in the caravan seemed to have seen fit to say anything to Aster yet, so he was nearly starved for contact each time the boys came around, and they seemed just as pleased with the company as he was.

“Morning cottontail,” Jack greeted, nearly tumbling over his own feet as he came even with Aster, his whiskers twitching in the light wind. Jokul was standing nearby, even as Jack leaned against Aster, nuzzling into the elders fur with every indication of pleasure. “Want to help us weave traps today?”

“I don't mind. Not sure how good Ah'll be at it, but I can give it a go,” Aster chuckled, wrapping one arm around Jack and looking at Jokul with a grin. He was always willing to put his paws to something new and the boys would certainly be able to keep him on track. He liked helping them out; it was always fun to be around them.

“Good, lets move down to by the river then,” Jokul declared. Jack let out a whoop of agreement, pulling away from Aster, much to the disappointment of something deep inside of him, and moving off towards the rock-filled clearing by the river.

As always, the boys chattered with each other and Aster, though occasionally what they said made him frown. Apparently the jacks were considered adults in this clan, though they seemed frightfully young to Aster. He knew he was old, not quite gray around the whiskers yet, but much older than he looked, and the jacks were so frightfully young. It also seemed like they were the only ones he would consider children in the caravan, other than the little green-furred jills running messages and small things back and forth.

Of course, the one time he had tried to ask about their age, they had clammed right up, but the fact that they were traveling with their mother argued that they really were quite young. Despite that though, Aster really did enjoy their company.

Moving to the rock he usually sat at, Aster settled himself in, letting Jack and Jokul show him how to weave traps and snares that presumably the older hunters used for catching their prey. The boys didn't seem to be the ones setting out the traps, but they seemed to weave a lot of the snares between their other chores, getting water for the animals and gathering herbs for their mother.

The dark sheila was still giving Aster the evil eye every time she saw him, which really made him wonder exactly why she had healed him if she hated outsiders so much, or if it was just him in particular she was having a problem with. He would find out soon, presumably, because Sera had stopped by this morning and told him he was meeting with Katya and the caravan elders tonight.

* * *

Evening approached far too fast, the jacks finishing off their traps and laughing as they helped him finish the last one, before leading him back into the camp. People had set up here and there and were pulling in around the communal fire between the other tents. This was usually when Aster went uncomfortably towards the tent that had apparently been assigned to him, not liking the way that people glared at him. Instead of letting him escape though, the jacks dragged him off to the side, settling him on a log that had been there when camp was set up; Jokul left and returned later with three bowls of the night’s stew and, a moment later, his white-furred twin likewise wandered off, this time returning with a round of bread and a large mug of something steaming to share.

With that, the black-furred jack settled in on his left while the white one settled against his right, leaning against him as they chattered and ate their dinner, making him eat too. Though he had been eating good food, he hadn't been up to eating much, and now that he had been declared healed by their mother, the boys seemed determined to make sure he ate heartily.

The bowl of soup and the hunk of bread they gave him almost seemed like too much as he made his way through it, but his little caretakers wouldn't let him get away without eating all of it. He found himself positively stuffed, sitting before the fire with a pale form on one side and a dark form on the other. That was when Sera and Kataya came over, an older white buck, a black buck that looked quite a lot like Sera, even having the same golden eyes, and a pale brown doe with blue eyes and a graying muzzle.

“You've healed completely, out-lander,” Katya declared, sitting on her haunches as she spoke to him, pale blue eyes gazing at him minutely, as if seeking out any imperfections.

“Only due to your kindness, ma'am,” Aster replied as he pulled himself to a more attentive pose, though both jacks were grinning widely and still leaning on him.

“Not my kindness at all.” The words were spoken with scorn, the white-furred doe obviously not overly happy. “However, since you have accepted our hospitality without complaint, and even been helpful, I can find no fault with the request that Jack and Jokul have made.”

“I can,” Sera's mutter went ignored by Katya, but Aster looked to her with confusion as he tried to figure out what she was upset about.

“No mind, no mind... Now... Aster, yes? I'm Frost, eldest of the caravan. You've two weeks to get to know your suitors, and, at the end of that, before the waxing moon, we'll have the wedding ceremony.” The old buck was positively chuckling even as Aster choked on his next breath.

“Waitaminute, what?” He demanded in a wheeze as he tried to remember how to breathe again.

“Us.” Jokul stated, suddenly sounding uncertain, a tone that did not go unobserved by any of the 'elders' gathered around them.

“We want you as our mate,” Jack added, sounding a great deal less self conscious than his twin.

“Me?!” Aster's voice came out as a squeak as his fur stood on end, and he shook his head. “Why? You drongo's are right barmy if'n yez want me. Ah've got to be at least thrice your age for starts and aren't yez a bit young for lookin at mates?”

The panic in his voice and stature was honest and the black buck with gold eyes and the old white one both chuckled at him, while even the brown doe seemed amused.

“How old do you think they are?” The black buck asked, his cultured voice belying the amusement in his tone, but Aster had to think about the question before answering.

“Fourteen? Maybe,” the guess he put out made all of the gathered Roma chuckle at him, which was the first clue that he was wrong at least, but he wasn't sure that was a good thing.

“We turn nineteen the first eve of the new moon.” Jack stated between chuckles; Aster felt his ears press to his neck, greatly surprised by this knowledge.

“Its just a few weeks away,” Jokul added, leaning against Aster again and the elder didn't pull away, though his ears pressed harder to his neck and his whiskers pulled back as he grimaced.

“But Ah’m still yonks older than ye...” he managed to sputter out, both confused, and, at the same time, happy.

“Well, if you're not Roma when when we leave at the full moon, you'll be left behind. Do try to think about it in the meantime,” the elderly brown doe spoke up, her voice soft, but there was some kind of threat in there and Aster couldn't puzzle out what it was.

They're message, or ultimatum, delivered, the 'elders' dispersed, leaving Bunny between his two still frightfully young suitors.

* * *

The next several days passed by rather strangely, the boys flirting with him outrageously despite the fact that Aster was still nervous about everything. There was a lot of petting, their fingers on his skin, tracing his tattoos or ruffling between his ears. Sometimes, their paws would find their ways to rather intimate places; Aster quickly put a stop to that while he was still trying to figure out what he was going to do about this. There was no way that the boys could seriously want him; he was old, too old, and they could find a mate closer to their own age, or their own race.

Shaking his head, Aster focused on the trap he was weaving, the boys leaning against his sides again as they worked on their own traps, talking to him and telling him about how things were when they were moving or in towns.

“In towns instead of making traps, we work as dancers. The crowds love it,” Jack was saying, and Aster knew him well enough by now to know that he was grinning from ear to ear.

“I think you would love it too,” Jokul observed, his fingers sliding over Aster's leg suggestively, causing Aster to choke as he tried to figure out how to politely tell the boy that he couldn't give in. He had thought about it, again and again, almost non-stop, but he couldn't marry the boys; for one thing, he had no idea how would having two mates work and, for another, they deserved someone better, who could spend more time making them happy.

Unable to track down where that thought came from, Aster shook his head, but the boys had stood up already. Jack glanced over his shoulder to wink at him saucily.

There was no music, though they didn't seem to need it. They started off close to each other - and only got closer. Aster wouldn’t have called what they were doing dancing, but then he wouldn't have approved of their type of antics outside of the bedroom anyways. He felt his pulse speed up as he watched Jokul's pale hands slip underneath Jack's shirt, lifting the hem up inch by tantalizing inch.

Hip movements, feet that by all rights should have been tangling, hands everywhere, looks of rapture on both faces, so similar, yet so very different.

A subtle flick of an eye here, a glance there, and Jack slowly knelt down, leaving his shirt in Jokul's hands even as Jokul stepped forward; from the way that they shifted, they ended up such that Jokul was staring directly at Aster while Jack's bare back and pert, round rear were on display, what with the way he was kneeling. Jokul's leg was over the paler boy's shoulder; then he seemed to give a push, which was followed by a graceful flurry of movement that resulted in their positions being reversed, yet subtly different in the manner that both boys were now looking at him, and in a fair predatory manner while licking their pale lips.

Aster couldn't suppress the quiet moan that escaped as the boys separated abruptly from each other before they began to stalk towards him in a way that made his pulse race and his pants become far too tight, far too fast.

Both boys chuckled as Aster flushed. He felt a scowl twist his features as he realized that they knew exactly what they were doing; the reactions, the sight, the sound, and the scent of them were generating. He felt like a deer staring into a bright light as they circled him, their bare feet not making any sound on the soft gravel that lay scattered across the ground.

Just when Aster was certain that his breathing would never be normal again, there were soft, cool lips against his, fingers running over his broad shoulders while lips pressed against the back of his neck. By the Ancestors, it was torture to not reach out and grasp with both hands what was kneeling before and behind him, the offer that these two pure, innocent youths were making.

“Aw bun-bun... we're not nearly _that_ innocent,” Jokul whispered in his ear right before a soft moan escaped Aster, as suddenly there were gentle lips and teeth on each ear.

Coherent thought was harder and harder to hold onto, but he couldn't possibly believe that the boys had full knowledge of what they wanted from him.

“Oh cottontail... we've wanted you so long... we know what we're getting into,” Jack whispered in his other ear as his hands roamed in a positively sinful fashion against his skin.

“Ssnn... Snowflake... Frrossstbite... Are you sure?” Aster demanded, putting his hands up and pulling the boy in front of him, away from his lips and chest. He looked into Jokul's dark eyes, noticing as he did that the boy glanced over Aster's shoulder at the other kneeling opposite him, on Aster’s other side. Then he nodded, a bright smile on his face; not a smirk, or a grin, but an honest, soft smile, so genuine it made Aster's heart ache.

“Please, Aster... we love you.”

Jack's voice was muffled as he pressed forward, leaning against Aster while his hands wrapped around the older man tightly. They were joined momentarily by Jokul's, pressing Aster's fur down in odd directions as they wrapped him up.

“I'm old, set in my ways, and I have a lot of responsibilities. I can't give you all the time you deserve.”

“Deserve schmeserve...” Jokul growled softly.

Jack's voice was calmer. “We know that, Aster. We won't get in your way, and the last thing we want is to interfere with your duties, but we want...”

Jack's voice trailed off but Jokul pulled back far enough to look into Asters eyes and continued.

“We want everything you can spare; we want to be part of everything you do. We want you, we want to give everything we are and everything we can be to you, because...”

“Because we can trust you. You'll never hurt us, and we'll do everything we can to never hurt you.”

Aster gulped, trembling and groaning as he took in their words, what they were saying and what they meant.

“You're sure?” he asked again, one last time, and when their two voices said “Yes” at the same time, with no hesitation, Aster finally caved, pulling Jokul close and kissing him deeply in the human way, though his long muzzle wasn't exactly suited to the action.

It didn't matter, there was more than enough enthusiasm to make up for lack of practice and awkward facial structures. When he was done with Jokul and the boy was gasping for breath, he turned, taking Jack's face in his paws and repeating the action.

They tasted subtly different, but both were amazing, and Aster couldn't wait until they were properly mated.

“Oh, it’s not that easy.”

The growl that interrupted them came from everywhere and nowhere, all around them, echoing through the trees menacingly. Aster rose up to finding himself back to back in a tiny, tight circle with the two boys, well-prepared for battle. His own boomerangs were held at ready and his bandolier had all of his usual exploding googies in it.

The shadows writhed, a pack of great, large lizards stepping out of the trees. Aster started shaking when he recognized the Arvo-wolves of his nightmares.

“You have no power here.”

Jokul's voice was strong and confident, but the wolves merely chuckled, the dark sound rolling out over the clearing.

“You gave us power here and now we'll drag all of you into death!”

The creatures swarmed.

* * *

Sandy gazed upon the three forms wrapped tightly together in his dream sand, taking note of the few grains here and there that turned black intermittently. When he tried to undo the changes, they resisted. He frowned, looking up at the quiet presence next to him and biting his lip in worry.

Things had been going well, very well, but then those little black grains had appeared. At first, he had thought it was something to do with Jokul's power, but as the boys got more and more distressed, and Bunny started shaking, Sandy realized that it might have been their influence but they had no control over it.

Finally, there was groaning, and Bunny's eyes started fluttering open. Sandy clapped with joy, glad that his friend was waking up.

But... the tall silent presence was still there. A chill ran through his body when it occurred to him that the boys might not be awakening. However, when he returned his gaze to them, he realized that his worry had been unfounded, and both of the boys' eyes were fluttering as well.

Gently, he withdrew his sand from them, letting them all awaken naturally instead of holding them in the dream. When he looked again, the tall form that had been keeping him company through his vigil was gone.

Not that Sandy didn't appreciate the company, but this hadn't been the best time for a social visit from Death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo... who all do you recognize in the dream? *evil Grin*


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry it took so long... I have an excuse but its not necessarily a good one. The day after I posted the last chapter I had about a thousand words written... and my computer restarted for an update. I lost it... Dragged myself back into writing after I looked at the reviews, but I still don't feel like the start is as good as what I had before. 
> 
> Blarg. Again, sorry it took so long, but on the upside its almost twice as long as what I usually aim for.

Aster opened his eyes to find himself somewhere so dark that he could barely see through the gloom and shadows, and what he could see didn't instil any kind of confidence inside of him. Sharp rocks littered the ground like shards of glass, gray stone walls had jagged openings that led to even darker shadows, and it felt as if the ceiling of the cave he was in was very far above, miles perhaps instead of mere yards, not that he could see it in the darkness.

Groaning, and clutching his aching chest, he pulled himself to his feet, looking around for any indication of where he was or how he had gotten here. The last thing he remembered was driving his boomerangs through several of the arvo-wolf apparitions, before Jack's horrified shout drew his attention to where they had dragged Jokul down.

The dark creatures had swarmed the fearling boy, seemingly forgetting about Jack and Aster when Jokul gave in and stopped fighting. Looking into Jokul's dark eyes as the shadowy creatures pulled him down, Aster realized something horrifying and heartbreaking all at once.

Jokul had given up hope, had somehow offered himself to the apparitions to spare Jack and Aster.

Jack had realized at the same time as Aster, and later the Pooka would be proud of how the boy had screamed defiance before charging forward into the shadowy portal that had enveloped his other half. Aster had been just as defiant, loosing a Pooka battle cry as he dove into the shadows right alongside Jack.

He didn't remember how he had gotten here, and looking around, Jack was nowhere to be seen. Ruthlessly suppressing any hint of panic, Aster stood tall, his long ears twisting this way and that as he listened intently for any hint of either of the frost boys.

Hearing a small scrape, Aster set off. He kept low to the ground, running on all fours for speed and silence through the chasms and halls. As he got closer to the origin of the sound, he heard whimpering and crying, and all of his protective instincts were roused as he charged into the small 'room' cut seemingly out of pure shadow.

The walls were sharp and jagged, the ground littered with hard stones and painful grooves that dug into his feet, but it was easy to ignore all of that has he ran to the tiny form curled against the wall.

“Jack? Jack what's wrong?”

This was not how he had expected to find the brighter frost. Jack was defiant and sassy, always confident. This boy turned frightened bright blue eyes to Aster even as the Pooka pulled him into his arms, checking for any sign of injury of harm, though Jack's words made him pause as a spark of pain went through his heart.

“Who... who are you?” Jack's voice trembled with emotion as he spoke, fear and despair hitting Aster like a sharp slap to the face.

“I'm Aster... Bunny, Kangaroo?” None of the names elicited response from the boy, and Aster frowned, pulling Jack into a tight embrace as his thoughts raced. Something was different about Jack, and it wasn't just that he didn't recognize Aster.

He was smaller, his face just a little more rounded and his limbs a little more awkward while his hands and feet seemed a little bigger. He was younger, or at least he looked younger, and if they were where Aster suspected they were, Jack was reliving some kind of memory.

“I'm a friend, mate,” he finally said, unable to settle on another explanation. The words seemed to relax something inside of Jack though, and he found the youth clinging to him sobbing into his fur, and he held on for a moment, rocking and letting Jack get it all out of his system.

“Come on, we need to find Jokul now.” Aster said, smiling as he pulled back from Jack and wiped the boy's tears away.

“Who's Jokul?”

It had hurt, realizing that Jack didn't know him, had no idea who Aster, or the Easter Bunny was, and hadn't even recognized the inane nickname that he and his other half had given Aster. It hurt a whole lot more to realize that he had forgotten his other half, the part of his soul that had split off when Aster shattered their core in an attempt to save them from a worse fate at the hands of Pitch Black. He occasionally thought of them as twins, but they were actually two halves of a whole. Without each other, they weren't complete, and for Jack to forget that, something terrible indeed must have happened.

“He's... he's a friend too.” Aster managed to say through a closing throat, even as he pulled the boy closer and fought back the urge to cry. “But he could be in danger in this place, so we have to find him quickly. Do you know your way around?”

Jack shook his head, shuddering and gripping tight to Aster. “No... it's too dark, there's no way out,” he whimpered, and Aster ran a soothing paw down the boy's back.

“Shh... it's alright. Chin up now, I'll lead the way and we'll find Jokul then get out of this depressing place,” Aster stated, smiling and lifting the boy's chin gently so he was looking up instead of down, ignoring for now the way he flinched.

Holding tight to the boy's hand, Aster turned back to the way he came, frowning at the wall where a moment ago there had been a passage. Well, it didn't matter so much, there was another passage off to the side, and they would have to take that one.

Walking quietly, which Jack seemed to be copying imperfectly, Aster started down the hall, his long ears once more turning this way and that listening for hints on where to go next.

He had the feeling that he didn't have much time, if he spent too long in the darkness, he would be too late.

* * *

Sandy fidgeted, glancing between the Pooka and the frost boys as he waited for them to awaken. He had withdrawn his sand a while ago, so they all should have woken up. Bunny's eyes and Jack's eyes had fluttered between open and closed for a few minutes, but then tendrils of the fine black sand that had somehow accumulated while Sandy held them all in a shared dream were now wrapped around the three of them.

They still shared some kind of dream, but it was no longer in Bunny's head and Sandy didn't know where it was, whether it was in Jack’s head, or Jokul's.

* * *

Aster very nearly started growling as he searched through the never ending dark tunnels. He had a feeling he was going in circles, but he ignored it because he was paying attention and if they were going in circles, they still never passed the same place twice.

Jack was a silent presence just behind him, and Aster reached back frequently to make sure that the child was still there. “Come on... I can smell something up ahead...” Aster said, turning back with a smile for Jack, only to realize that the corridor behind them, the narrow but not so narrow as to be impassable walls, had closed off, leaving only jagged stone back the way they had come.

That was disconcerting. Aster blinked for a moment as he tried to think about the implications, and finally shrugged. It wasn't like he wanted to go back that way anyways, but it wasn't very comforting to think that they might be being herded.

“How... how much further?” Jack asked, drawing Aster's attention back to what they were doing rather than musing on possible traps and closed paths.

“Not much further.” Aster said cheerfully, determined not to let the boy find out that he really had no idea, he just had the reverent and desperate hope that they would find Jokul soon so they could go home.

Turning forward again, Aster's nose twitched, the scent of something noxious hitting him rather suddenly and he shuddered but kept going forward. It wasn't like there was much option, between the fact they needed to keep moving and the walls seemed to be closing behind them.

Because he had already scented it, there was little surprise when they came to the thing on the floor. Aster couldn't quite bring himself to call it a puddle, because even tar pits didn't smell this bad, but that probably was the closest descriptive word for it. It spanned from one narrow wall to the other and several yards down the hall. Aster couldn't jump over it, and he wasn't about to ask if Jack could freeze it, and the boy definitely couldn't jump over it.

Looking back the way they had come, Aster growled in annoyance at the new additions to the hallway. On each side of the hall, a few feet away from where the wall had been following them as they went and blocking their way back, were doors. The one on the left was red and the one on the right was blue.

“Aw hell no.” Aster growled, glaring at the doors, and then checking again to make sure Jack was with him. Holding onto Jack, because he didn't know what was going to happen in this crazy place, Aster moved to the doors, just in time for the two faces on the doors to start talking. In unison.

“One way leads to that which you seek, the other to certain doom. One will tell the truth, the other will lie to you. Only one question may you ask, of this most impossible task.”

“Fine. Blue door, will the red door tell me that you will lead me to Jokul?” Aster growled, glaring at the doors darkly.

It wasn't Aster's imagination, the door pouted at him, and the red door was doing the same on the other side, looking thoroughly put out.

“No.”

“Right, thank you.” Aster started to push the blue door open, but they both hemmed in unison. “What is it now?”

“A bit more decorum if you please, it was not easy to come up with these.” They of course spoke in unison again, and Aster rolled his eyes before pulling Jack after him through the blue door, closing it behind him as both doors started to grumble together.

* * *

After who knew how long, Aster had to admit that the place was definitely getting more and more creepy. There were things in the shadows behind them, moving from here and there, making just the barest scratching noises on the cold stone. The walls were definitely moving every time he looked away, sometimes even changing from the jagged natural stone, to something carved and shaped with vaguely horrifying images. There were no more doors, but there were things running along, not quite seen in the shadows or out of the corner of Aster’s eyes.

It was all rather annoying, especially since Aster had a mission, and he wasn't going to let go of it for anything. Find the boys, get them home.

A secondary mission was going to become helping Jokul get rid of some of this gloominess, even a fearling didn't need all this horror in their head. Not that it horrified Aster as much as it should have, but Jack was shaking and trembling as Aster pulled him forward.

“Come on... We have to get through this soon.” Aster said, giving the boy an encouraging smile, and Jack smiled bravely back.

Aster moved forward again, his ears twitching every which direction as he heard the skittering and twisting in the shadows. Then, abruptly, it was like stepping through one of Nick's portals, and he found himself in pure blackness, unable to see anything, the only sounds his own ragged voice and worn out screams.

He felt so scared, so lonely, had been alone for so long, long enough that he had imagined another presence, someone to talk to to keep himself sane. He knew it was an imagining, but he was so alone, he hated being alone and he always had.

Then there wasn't exactly light, but there was something to see by, as a tall, terrifying man stepped out of the shadows, with long features, and short black hair and golden eyes. He wore an aura of fear like a cloak, and Jack (Aster, I'm Aster.) was torn between wanting to run to him, and wanting to be alone again.

“Oh so scared of being alone... don't worry, you'll never be lonely again.” The tall man (Pitch Black! How was he...) crooned, moving forward and cupping his head, tilting it back and looking into his eyes, even as something jagged and black stabbed into his chest.

Never alone? A new voice in his head, this one defensive and terrified, but he wasn't alone. Sobbing gratefully, he curled around himself, cradling the black presence, clinging to it instead of fighting it. It was wary, defensive, but accepted his affection, his utter willingness to share his body instead of fighting for it. It was supposed to take over, to follow the will of its master, and if that was the price for not being alone, it was one Jack (I'm _not_ Jack! I'm Aster!) would gladly pay. He had been alone far too long. (Strewth... fifty years...)

Aster found himself screaming as he fell to his knees, tears streaming from his eyes. Jack's memories, Aster held onto what he had found fiercely, determined not to forget the brief memory of moonlight, followed by fifty years in the dark, alone and cold and then Pitch Black's 'gift'. Strewth, Jokul really was almost as old as Jack, or maybe much older. There was nothing in his stomach, so when he dry heaved, he didn't make a mess.

“Jack?” Aster managed to gasp, turning to look for his charge. He felt chills through his pelt as he realized that the boy was gone. “Jack? Where are you?”

The only response to his query was the wry skittering and twitching of the shadows. The entire place had changed, the cold stone walls gone, and black shadows stretching off in every direction. There was the barest little shimmer behind him, like the shadows were moving in just that one spot. Going back wasn't an option, and it looked like another strange little shimmer was just in front of him.

Oh strewth, it looked like he was going to have to go through that shimmer, and more, to get to Jokul, and hopefully find Jack again. Steeling his nerves, Aster took a deep breath, and stepped forward, ready to make his way further into this new labyrinth. 

Master was angry, something had displeased him, and it hurt to think that he had messed up somehow and done something wrong. There was pain, and there was struggle, the body didn't want to cooperate, it didn't like the pain, but Master was putting another shard of nightmare inside, there wasn't room for more nightmare.

He had to struggle to survive, he had made a promise. He would shatter though if he did.

_Rejection! No!_ It wrapped around him, acting as a shield when he had none for himself. He was struck, but didn't shatter, and he struck back, fracturing and breaking the opponent. But there was still something wrong, it hurt so much, far too much.

He couldn't hold onto it, he had to get it out. It clawed, it scratched and struggled, it wanted what he had, but he wasn't giving it up, and he would do everything he could to keep his part of the bargain. He would get rid of the nightmare and protect what was his, his body, his shield, his companion.

When the pain stopped, the shattered nightmare was separate from him, expelled to serve master on its own and out of his territory. And for the first time ever, he cried, looking down at the cold blue sphere cradled in the palm of his hand. He gripped it tight, tucking it away. It was important, it was precious.

Aster tumbled to his knees again, gasping and trying to catch his breath. It had all changed again the shadows writhing all around him. It didn't matter which way he turned from here, he was going to get caught in another memory. Better to go forward and press on than trying to stop.

With one last deep breath he stepped forward, ready to push on.

The air was crisp and cold, the storm flowing around him to his masters will. The humans were all holed up tight in their homes, weathering out the storm in fear and despair. It pleased his Master, so it pleased him.

The storm was his, like breathing and it felt so good to cut loose and let his power run wild. It was him, it was his, and he was strong, so very strong.

There was a voice behind him, and he turned, the heart of the storm blowing ice all around him. The shivering, furred creature behind him, it saw him. It saw him, and he definitely saw it.

Emotion and light and pure hope, it flowed around the strange creature like a whirlwind, like his own glorious storm, but more controlled, more beautiful than anything else.

It was terrifying.

It was amazing.

It was everything he could ever possibly want, strong, courageous, full of that elusive hope and life and it wasn't scared. It was beautiful and soft and it smelled so sweet, like something elusive that had meant safety in the past.

It was like something inside of him was breaking as his master said to kill it. How dare something so wonderful be something Master wanted dead? In that moment, no matter how much he wanted it, desired that furry warm wonderful creature, he hated it as well.

Aster shuddered at having seen himself for the first time through the boys' eyes. They hadn't known that feeling, but it was one that Aster was plenty familiar with, one that could fade gently with time, or grow into something soul wrenching and powerful.

They had loved him since the first time they had seen him.

Wiping the tears from his eyes, he stepped forward, determined to find Jokul and Jack and take them home.

He stood on the stone bench, glaring up at the moon. Jokul stood nearby, playing with the corrupted dream sand that he had stolen from the Sandman, and he was the focus of this conversation.

_Renounce it! It is not you, it could never be you._

**I renounced my own core before I would betray him. He's Mine, my other half, a part of my soul.** He glared as he communicated, eyes flashing in his anger with the reflected light of the one he 'spoke' with.

_It's an abomination! It should never have existed! Please my son, renounce its evil and come home._ The 'words' were gentle light, communicating directly to his mind through his eyes and skipping the vector of air completely.

**How can you not see? Jokul is no more evil than I am, less perhaps. He's my other half! I love him as much as I love...**

_An Abomination! He's not your race, and it's form is a reflection of the will of its master! He's light and life, and if you continue to tie your life to that creature he could never accept you!_

**You married a snow maiden! A creature less alike to the Lunarians than Bunny is to us!**

_I wed the Snow Queen! A woman powerful enough to defend herself when my enemies come! As powerful as you must become if you are to survive!_

**Survive? I take it you want to teach me how to live, how to obey your will, how to 'survive'?** Jack's response was scathing.

_Exactly! I could..._

**Be a senile old Fool. I know about survival, I know all about it, and I couldn't have done it on my own. I'd rather take my chances being half fearling than your 'son'.** Jack turned his attention away from the moon, scowling for several moments before smirking at his other half, taking as much delight as Jokul in the creature formed by the black sands.

He was never going to complain about North's portals again. Aster groaned, taking only a moment to catch his shuddering breath before pushing onward, all too aware that time was running out.

He sat in the trees overlooking their colorful camp, simply enjoying the laughter and joy that spread out from even the simplest of tasks. Oh strangers were looked on with suspicion and distrust, but among themselves there was no shortage of joy and happiness. It was enjoyable to be around them, it eased an ache inside that was always there.

He enjoyed their company, so when a little girl went missing, and that amazing laughter and joy dimmed, how could he do anything but look for her. While he wasn't able to bring her directly back, he could bait one who would, and it was exhilarating to be chased by that glorious, beautiful being who he was so fond of.

Aster took another step forward, not bothering to wipe the tears from his face this time.

He wasn't cold, he was never cold, but he was shivering. In his hands he held Baby Tooth and he had to put her somewhere safe while he destroyed the interloping shard and got rid of it. His master was so annoying, breeding a new fearling just to antagonize the beautiful one, and the look of horror on rabbit-like features was only an indication that he would never be accepted. It hurt, but he was used to pain, and it was more a dull throb anyways than anything more substantial.

Baby Tooth was still wrapped tight in the scrap of cloth from his cloak, and hopefully it was helping keep her warm, but he didn't have time to stop and try to ask, he had to find somewhere safe. Well... the Rabbit was safe, in a cage and everything, and the cages were the safest places in Master’s Lair. Light as a shadow he jumped up, making his way from cage to hanging cage to the Rabbit, before pushing the bundle in.

The Rabbit was confused, his emotions a whirl of living green and dark angry blue, but there was no time to decipher him right now. The Shard had shattered and it was time to push it out before it hurt him.

It was only later that he realized what had been stolen, his precious treasure, that which had come from his sleeping half. It made him angry, so very angry, and he hated both the little tooth fairy and the Rabbit right then, but it also felt so very good to have his heart and soul in the other’s hands. It made his head spin and his stomach feel like butterflies.

He keened as he fell to his knees again, breathing harshly, but there was no time to rest. He had to find Jack and Jokul right now, he needed to, and after seeing what they had seen he needed to protect them, to hold them safe. Groaning, Aster pushed himself forward again.

Pressure, inescapable, impossible to survive pressure. The lonely voice clung to him, but if they stayed together they would shatter and be destroyed. He recognized this feeling, this was what he was supposed to feel, he was supposed to break, but if he broke now the quiet, lonely presence that had loved him and kept him safe from the other shards, that he had protected and loved in turn, would be destroyed as well.

**NO.** He wasn't going to let that happen. There was no time to explain and no time to apologise, but to keep the other safe, the one the body belonged to alive, he pushed him away, just as the pressure became too much and they cracked. They didn't shatter, but they did break into three separate pieces. Two large, one a bare shard.

In the shock, they found themselves looking at each other, still connected deeply by mind and soul though it was fraying fast. There was energy available though, from the one who had broken them and from the one who had made them, and they wanted to live.

Each turned to the nearest presence, and fed, draining energy quickly and decisively. When they had taken their fill, Jokul looked down where he had fed on the Rabbit, and then up to where Jack was standing over the fallen nightmare king in shock.

There was still more to do, and if he didn't get help, the Rabbit would at the best freeze to death. Gathering up the larger pieces of their core, he gave the bright one to Jack, and took the dark one for himself. “Get him to the Santa Claus.” He commanded, taking lead while Jack was still stunned, and his other half nodded.

“You'll catch up?”

He's not sure he will, but he nodded anyways. 

Aster groans as he falls again, his knees are getting quite beaten up indeed. It wasn't much compared to how his heart was being battered though. Looking up, he saw one more shimmer, and he knew that what he sought was on the other side. One more, that was all there was before he got to Jokul, before he could help Jokul. He pushed himself to his feet.

The energy coursing into him as he devoured his once master was amazing, he felt so strong. The nightmare he had devoured had tried to shatter him, the way they always did, but he had eaten it this time, taking its power for his own. It couldn't shatter him when he had his own body now, and the strength that gave him was exhilarating. He liked it, but he also knew it was wrong, he was just a fearling, an evil creature that should never have existed.

He was going to be a burden on his other half, the one he had promised so long ago to protect in exchange for the chance to live without shattering, the one who had protected him in turn. He was evil, there was no getting around that. He had even attacked the Rabbit and stolen his energy to live, only parasites and cruel creatures lived at the expense of those they cared for. 

There was a way he could make up for it though. He resonated, calling out to the fearlings that had been created over the years, and using his new found strength over nightmare to command them to come to him, to command them to be devoured by his strength, only adding to it. With each fearling devoured, he felt even stronger, and the temptation to simply take his prior Master’s place grew.

When he had devoured the last fearling, he turned to the husk that had once held Pitch Black, and the intimidating black haired woman standing over it and looking at him with familiar golden eyes.

Abruptly the temptation to try to take his Master’s place as the Boogieman faded, under the realization that this woman was far more powerful than him and could still squash him if she pleased for making that presumption. (Seraphina!?)

Jokul eyed her warily, wondering why she was there, and why her smile disturbed him so. “Hello, Nightmare Prince. I'm here for my father, I trust you don't object?” Her words were calm, but there was power in them, like lightning tamed only because it wanted to be.

He didn't want to tangle with that, so he shook his head, and the woman picked up the husk of a man with one arm, making it look so easy, which it might have been. When Jokul had finished devouring the nightmare shards that were Pitch Black, the remaining husk had been withered and empty. Even as the black haired woman picked him up, Jokul saw the husk take a shuddering breath, (?!?!??) then with a smile and a flurry of snowflakes she was gone, and he breathed again.

He had a plan. He had to get things set up so he would never be a burden to the other half of the soul he held, or the Rabbit that held the shard of their heart.

Aster sobbed as he fell to his knees, once more curling his right paw close to his chest and holding it as the shudders of pain and remembrance ran through him. He had thought after going through the first memory that if he didn't make the effort to remember, he would forget these horrible and wonderful things he was learning, but now he felt as if each of Jokul's memories was branded into his very spirit.

Wiping his watering eyes, he looked up, knowing somehow that he was exactly where he had wanted to be, and that Jokul was here, waiting for him.

He was shaking when he stood and moved forward, but there were no more memories. He had made it to the heart of where he needed to be. Before him, Jack and Jokul were tangled in something dark, it looked like a gossamer spider web from here, glittering and shimmering in what little light there was in this place. Both boys were bare to the waist, their arms suspended above them, Jack on the right side of the pillar, and Jokul on the left, their legs covered by the threads holding them in place.

In between him and them stood a great beast, many times taller than Aster, looking nothing more like the cross between a bull and a man, with a wolf’s face. Long, hideously curved horns curled up from its head, and its hooves stomped the black stone, striking blue sparks. Its hands had long, cat-like claws with wicked sharp points, and its fur was blacker than night while the skin was a sallow amber color.

It stamped and howled at him, angry as far as Aster could see. The Pooka paused, staring at this creature of pure nightmare. He had to save the boys. If this was the thing keeping them captive, he had to get past it and free them. There was something off about it though, something that wasn't quite right about what was going on. 

When the great nightmare bellowed again, there was an air of desperation in its loud voice. Aster listened closely, hearing the alarming chink of something cracking. “No... Oh Jokul.”

He was scared. There was no denying he was scared, even as he moved forward towards the great creature, looking into its familiar dark blue eyes without flinching. It feigned attacking him, its claws swiping through the air in front of his face, but Aster didn't flinch, instead taking another step closer.

The Nightmare lowered its head, confused and scared. Aster could see the fine spiderweb of cracks in its chest now. It was dying, shattering, and he didn't want that.

The Pooka wrapped his arms around the Nightmare's shoulders, holding the frightening creature close, and opening up what magic was left in him, ready to heal the scarred and scared being.

“Its alright Jokul, it'll be fine, I promise,” he whispered. How could he be scared of this great thing that had gone against all of its instincts and protected Jack and himself through all the horrors foisted upon them? “I've got you now... its alright.”

When the first dark tear fell from its soft blue eyes, it changed, condensing to a size he was more familiar with, its features changing to something much closer to human though not quite looking like Jack anymore. Oh his face was similar enough that they would still pass as twins, but his shaggy black hair was longer, and he had kept the horns and cat-like claws of the other form.

He also clung to Aster like a lifeline, even as the shade of himself on the pillar with Jack faded, and the pillar slowly collapsed down, the threads gently depositing the sleeping snow sprite on the ground.

Aster didn't know how long he held Jokul like that, at least until the boy stopped crying, and it wasn't until Jokul began to pull away that Aster relaxed his death grip on the Nightmare.

“So this is your true form?” He asked, good humor in his voice and a smile on his features as he tilted the boy's head up to look at him. Jokul nodded, fear and uncertainty still so easy to read in his eyes, though there was also a bluster of brash attitude trying to cover it up as he pulled away and wiped his eyes.

“Closer to it,” he admitted, looking down, and Aster chuckled, pulling Jokul into his arms again.

“I like it. You look good like yourself,” Aster stated, and Jokul sobbed again, shaking his head in denial.

“No, I look like a monster,” Jokul said, his voice rough and unhappy.

“Hardly,” Jack's voice was sleepy, but well aware as the nude boy wrapped his own arms around the nightmare form of his other half. “You're beautiful no matter what form you wear.”

“Gotta agree there, mate,” Aster added with a chuckle, moving to wrap one arm around Jack as well. “Then again, I might be a tad biased. I've gotten mighty fond of you crazy drongos lately.”

That drew a short laugh from the nightmare boy, and he shook his head, before looking up with a smile at Aster, and the Pooka felt more than just a warm glow in his chest at the emotions he could see in the boy.

“Lets wake up now... I'm tired of being asleep.” Jack stated, and Jokul let out another laugh, nodding even as the world around them began to fade.

“Wait, waddaya mean wake up?”

* * *

Sandy fretted back and forth, not sure what to do. The black sands had multiplied bit by bit, and now they were completely engulfing the three forms within just as his own dream sand had earlier to let the boys pull Bunny back from the brink of death. This was an entirely new situation, and even when Sandy had reached the decision to turn the black sand into dreamsand , his power had done nothing to the tiny, ebony particles.

He had just decided that it was time to call in help, and was forming little dream sand messengers to send to Tooth and North, when the black sand suddenly condensed in a flurry of activity, releasing its hold on Jack and Bunny before pressing into Jokul. When it cleared, Jokul's dark blue eyes were open, and looking directly at Sandy.

His black hair was longer now, and peeking out just above his temples were two tiny black horns that looked like they were made of the black sand. Sharp claws made of ice became apparent as he flexed his fingers, leaning forward over the other two sleeping forms, and before Sandy could do anything to prevent it, the nightmare sand and shadows from seemingly nowhere had swallowed all three of them, leaving Sandy alone in the Warren.

It was definitely past time to get the other Guardians' help.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is the second to last chapter. 
> 
> Next chapter the rating goes up for pure smut, so review and stick around :3

He was warm, pressed against soft fur that smelled like sunshine and flowers. Whatever he was pressed into was large enough that his other half was also pressed against him and it.

“Come on Frostbite... Snowflake... I gotta move... a bloke’s back isn't supposed to curl like this.”

Jokul grumbled, nuzzling deeper into the soft fur under his cheeks even as Aster chuckled at him, and the fearling cracked one eye, glaring blearily upwards. He was exhausted. Dreaming was apparently a lot of work, and all he wanted to do was rest against his and Jack's mate.

“Don’ wanna move.” 

Jack's voice was slurred; Jokul glanced towards his other half, concerned. Jack's eyes were closed and he looked a little pale, but otherwise fine.

“Come on... wouldn't you be more comfy stretched out somewhere soft?” Aster tried again, and this drew a chuckle from both boys.

Jokul glanced up at the bunny, taking a rather perverse delight in the look of discomfort on his features. Served him right for making things so difficult.

“You're the only thing that can be considered soft here,” he explained, feeling a twinge of guilt at the look of horror on Aster's face before the humor overwhelmed him.

“Not true...” Jack's slurred voice interjected, the snow sprite yawning and nuzzling Aster's fur again. “There's a 'couch' in the library.”

Jokul blinked, sitting up slightly even as Aster began to chuckle at him. “We have a library?”

Jack nodded, watching as Aster stroked one paw down Jokul's back, which actually made the world alright. The fearling leaned forward again, something like a contented purr leaving him as the leoporidae continued to touch him.

“I don't suppose we could relocate there?” 

Aster's voice had a plaintive note in it, and both Jack and Jokul chuckled at that. Jokul saw his twins eyes finally crack open as he looked up at Aster too.

“What's wrong with our usual bed?” Jack asked, a mischievous tone in his voice.

“To be honest with you? My back is starting to cramp something fierce from being curled up like this,” Aster complained, a slightly bitter note in his voice. Jokul sat back in alarm, kept from scrambling completely off of the bunny by a furry arm holding him near still. “That's not an accusation, its just a statement. I'm not used to sleeping curled up like this, that's all it is.”

He held on to Jokul for a moment longer before the fearling finally nodded, accepting Aster's statement for its worth. Then he sighed, running a hand through his dark hair and feeling the sand extending the tips a few inches longer than usual. That was one of the things they all had to talk about. 

“Alright... we'll relocate to the library,” Jokul conceded, sticking his tongue out at his 'twin' when Jack laughed at him.

“I'll show you where it is.” 

The amusement in Jack's voice was disconcerting. Honestly, Jokul wanted to be upset about it, but he was too tired, and too happy after the end results of that almost disastrous dream.

Getting Aster down from the cage proved to be a little more tricky than Jokul had anticipated. He hadn't realized just how much larger the bunny was then either himself or Jack. Aster was only about a foot taller than them, but underneath the soft fur was a great deal of hard muscle. Delightfully strong, smooth muscles. Jokul wanted to card his fingers through fur and feel each and every muscle flex and stretch.

He wasn't sure he would get the chance to, but without hope...

The library turned out to be huge, walls lined with books, and shelves freestanding in massive circles around the singular couch in the room. There wasn't much light, but considering the fact that fearlings could see in the dark it definitely didn't bother Jokul - or Jack, judging by his snow spirit twin’s ease.

Once Aster was settled on the couch, both boys held back slightly. Jokul wasn't sure that the Easter Bunny would appreciate his affections right now, considering that he had just caused so much trouble. Jack was just as uncertain because the last time they had been awake, he had been yelling at the rabbit.

“Get over here, both of you,” Aster grumbled, glaring at them. When both boys complied, he pulled them both down onto the smallish couch with him, one 'twin' settled on each side and wrapped in one long, furry limb. Jokul had just started to relax when Aster spoke again.

“So are you two going to explain what that was all about? I get that you... uhm... want me, but what was with the yelling and the knife and... we were asleep, right?” 

Aster's voice was somewhat uncertain, but he wasn't pushing them away so Jokul took that as a good sign. Apparently Jack did too.

“We love you. I don't know how much of the dreams you remember, but we do. You're strong and really good looking. You've always been there for us. Uhm- we thought you had rejected us.”

“Doesn't make it right, I know, but I had to know why,” Jokul cut in, growling and squirming uncomfortably though Aster didn't let him go. “I had to know for sure what scared you about us.”

“And? What did you find?” Aster prompted when Jokul had been silent for a few moments.

“You're scared of hurting us, or making us think that for your friendship we had to do something we didn't want.” Jokul twisted, looking up at Aster's bright green eyes. “We don't just want your friendship.”

He was rewarded by seeing a slightly glazed look come into Aster's eyes as all the implications sank in. Or maybe that was just from the way that Jack and Jokul's fingers were carding through the thick, soft fur on his chest and belly. Aster let out a choked groan, before taking both boys' hands and holding them, still.

“Hold just a mo’. I know you're enthusiastic, but I'm also worried you might not be fully aware what you're getting into.” He groaned slightly, closing his eyes. “I'm old, stubborn and set in my ways. I've also been around the proverbial block a few times, and it usually didn't end well. I...”

“You're scared that will happen again,” Jokul stated, tasting the fear gingerly, trying to decide if it was relevant or not. He saw his other half grin and he decided that Bunny didn't really need that fear right now anyways.

Aster seemed to shake himself as Jokul finished eating the fear and the Guardian glared at the boy for a moment before a single, fluffy flake of snow landed on his nose. At which point he started giggling.

“‘At's just not fair,” he managed, between giggles, pulling both boys closer even as they joined him in his fit.

“It was supposed to be fair?” Jokul's question was fairly innocent, where his hands were was not. The cross-eyed look on the furry being’s face was well worth it though.

“Most of it, I think.” Aster said, after a few moments, and Jokul blinked. “I remember most of the dream, I think.”

The clarification was good, and Jokul nodded, ignoring the way his face suddenly felt warm of all things. Jack's face was covered with a fine layer of frost.

“You were jealous, both of me and of Jack,” was the bunny's next statement, and Jokul froze, wondering how Aster had picked up on that particular emotion. He knew Jack never had, and the confused look on his 'twins' face confirmed that. “We won't leave you. I'm here for you and Jack will choose you, every time.”

Just like Jokul would choose Jack every time if he absolutely had to make that choice. He didn't want to though; there was so little that they had ever gotten, or so it seemed, and he wanted to hold onto Aster no matter what. That didn't mean he understood why they would hold onto him given the chance to push him away. It was only made more confusing by the fact that Aster knew the truth about him now.

“I'm Nightmare,” Jokul said softly, older memories, or rather the echo of them, telling him about the Pooka and exactly why Aster would reject him.

“You're a shard of Nightmare,” Aster corrected, and Jokul all but felt Jack beaming at the statement.

“Either way, I remember... bits and pieces really, but I remember what happened to your people.”

* * *

Aster's breath caught as Jokul made the statement, memories of other Pooka, his training, and the horrible war that had wiped them out coming to mind. Jokul had memories of that? That was truly horrifying, no youth deserved to have that kind of memory in his head. Aster drew Jokul closer to him, wrapping both arms briefly around the boy and smiling as Jack wrapped around the other side of the boy.

“That happened a long time ago. The one who committed those atrocities was Pitch Black, not you,” Aster growled, memories of the atrocities heaped upon his people ringing through his mind. If similar memories ran through some part of Jokul, well it was little wonder he had taken the roll he had in this current human conflict.

“How much do you remember of before you became part of Jack?” he asked, curious despite himself. The impression he had gotten during their shared dream was that he didn't have any memories before that, but these kinds of thing were not an exact science.

“Remember might be the wrong word,” Jokul admitted, his voice sheepish where Aster was holding him to his chest. “Its more like hearing the echo of something far away bouncing around in a tight space. You can get the gist of it, but specifics are long lost.”

Well that was a relief actually. The specifics were horrendous, and he didn't want that to be yet another burden on the fearling boy who wasn't really a fearling at all. 

“The reason you weren't setting off North's fearling wards is because you're a shard of Nightmare.” Aster felt like the entire world tilted sideways as the realization hit him; he wondered exactly what that meant and how that would affect everything.

“Yes.” Jack sighed, and Aster jumped as he felt Jack's fingers pinch his arm through thick fur. “Don't you _dare_ make a big deal out of that, because that's not his fault either.”

“Now wait here, I'm not upset about it at all,” Aster rejoined defensively, before wishing he hadn't said anything. “Listen you crazy drongos; I'm right proud of what you've done and managed to accomplish, despite everything, and the expectations of everyone around you.”

Jack laughed, and Jokul let out a thin, somewhat strained chuckle.

“You don't really get it; my only purpose was to become a nest of fearlings. Let everyone else expect whatever they want, I'll do what I want.”

Jack laughed as his other half spoke, and Aster found himself grinning despite the seriousness of the situation.

“You're both crazy, and defiant. I don't think you could be what anyone expected of you even if you wanted to. Ancestors have mercy, I want to be there for everything you do, every shocked expression you cause.” The Pooka's voice was full of amusement as he pulled both of the boys into his arms again, snuggling them soundly.

“So we've got a shot?” Jack asked, pure mischief in his voice as fingers suddenly started carding through Aster's fur in sensitive and delicate areas. Each of his thighs had a boy's hand on it and it felt like Jokul was nibbling at the base of his neck.

“Oh Ancestors....” Aster had time to breathe, before nodding, his eyes almost crossing in pleasure as he felt gentle fingers stroking the insides of his long ears.

* * *

They were just getting to the good part when Jokul pulled back, growling as the shadows in the room flexed and he looked around, not seeing the library at all, even as Jack and Bunny were shocked back into something closer to composure by Jokul's actions.

“Intruders... in the main cavern,” Jokul's words were distant, and he growled as he realized exactly who was here. Maybe he should have said something to Sandy before he had brought Jack and Aster back home, but he had been exhausted and cranky. That didn't give the Guardians leave to full-out assault his home.

He didn't even have many nightmares around, most of them were out doing their jobs eating the fears of the children, and using them to guide the little ones away from what would hurt them. Better yet, most of his strongest Nightmares were tormenting those responsible for the war spanning half the world at the moment. While that meant that he was relatively strong right now, that didn't mean that he wanted to play around with the Guardians, his present company excluded.

“Couldn’t they have waited at least a few days?” he growled, shadows forming a cloak for him even as Jack shrugged back into his shirt, finding it behind the couch while Aster was recovering more composure.

“Who?” Aster asked, obviously confused, trying to make his mussed fur lay the way it was supposed to.

“The other Guardians.”

“Wait... why are they here?” Aster was confused, and Jokul flushed frost before replying.

“Sandy... may have helped us with the shared dream, to pull you back from the bad place that my nightmare blade sent you...”

“He did most of the work actually. He seemed really worried before he put us to sleep,” Jack added, his own face bearing a tracery of frost.

“Oh. Well, that explains everything,” Aster said, groaning as he massaged his head with a paw. “So why are the other Guardians here?”

“I may have had the shadows bring us home without saying anything to Sandy. After I growled at him,” Jokul added sheepishly, but the dream sprite had been way too close to _his_ mates, and, looking back, it seemed like he hadn't woken up very coherent, in addition to being tired and cranky.

“Right. Nothing to get worked up about. We'll talk to them, explain things. Everyone will step back from the edge. We'll get through this.” 

* * *

The portal dropped them right into the huge room from last time, somewhere that North knew at least a little after the fiasco with Jack and Jokul and General Winter. That had been unnerving, but, although he was callous and had no care for anyone not of winter, the General was known to keep those under his jurisdiction in line. Jack and Jokul should have been kept in line by the strict elderly spirit.

North was quite disappointed that they had not been, although he wasn't going to be the one to take a complaint to the old man. No one had seen hide nor hair of either of the boys since General Winter had taken them, after all. It hadn't been that unreasonable to expect that the old man was keeping an eye on them, especially with the claim that they were family of some kind.

If Jack had really been the son of the Snow Queen, then how had he gotten a human tooth box? Sure, snow maidens were raised by humans, but Jack had been too male to fit into that category himself; the young women always called their human parents mother and father and their spirit parent grandfather. There was no mention of the Snow Queen ever creating a child, let alone letting it be raised by humans. Even presuming that the Snow Queen had once been a snow maiden, none of them ever had spirit sons. Oh, occasionally their human lovers would father a snow maiden child, but if they had a son, he was human, or, in at least one case that North had heard of, an elf like his father.

Shaking his head and looking around the gloomy lair, North shuddered at the odd half-ice, half-shadow sculptures that seemed everywhere. Most of the cages had fallen or been torn down, with only one of them still hanging from the ceiling, its chain creaking eerily. The shadows were alive, that definitely wasn't North's imagination, with what looked like a few black horses with glowing, blue eyes. They never stood still, but they were probably enemies.

“Be careful... we don't know what страшный сон has planned, or might be doing to Bunny and Jack,” North stated, his voice quiet as he looked around, trying to keep in mind what their goal was. They had never fought Nightmare, but Sandy had shuddered when he told Tooth and North about it. He had apparently fought long and hard against many aspects of the horrifying master of evil, and to have seen one devour Jokul in front of his eyes...

North shook his head again, looking over at the sad but determined dream sprite. According to Sandy, Nightmare was pure evil in all of its incarnations. Sandy had known the boy had a piece of shard giving him power, but it had overpowered the boy and taken Jack and Bunny.

They had to save who they could, even if it meant giving up on one of the boys. Hopefully they had grown far enough apart to survive away from each other. Nightmare was nothing to sneer at and nothing an impressionable youth like Jack ought to have been exposed to.

“They're everywhere,” Tooth observed quietly, gazing warily at the horses in the shadows. She had convinced Baby Tooth to stay behind, wanting the smaller fairy to not get hurt when they confronted the Nightmare wearing Jokul's form now.

North nodded, keeping his sabers at the ready, even as the shadows shifted.

“What the hell are you doing in our home?” Jokul's voice was almost a growl, and looking at the boy, North had to remind himself that this wasn't the boy that they had last seen with Jack and General Winter. He looked different for one thing, his black hair a few inches longer, and dark horns peeking out of his hair.

“You will release Bunny and Jack,” North demanded, ignoring the question and steeling his heart because he was fairly certain that it was already too late.

If the Nightmare had done anything to Bunny, he was going to show no mercy at all, and, from the hiss of dream sand whips, neither was Sandy.

“There's no need for all of that,” Bunny said, rubbing his head as he stepped out of the shadows, looking rather like he had just woken up. Jack was next to him, grinning brightly and North looked them both over carefully.

“Bunny, Jack, come over here. That is not who you think it is,” North growled, turning his attention back to where the Nightmare wearing Jokul's form was glowering. “Is Nightmare, taken over fearling boy's body.”

“No mate. Jokul is himself,” Bunny countered, holding Jack back as the snow sprite made to lunge at North, the growl coming from the elemental quite alarming. “True, he _is_ a shard of Nightmare-”

“Shut _up_ Aster!” Jack interrupted angrily, the snow sprite twisting out of the Pooka's grip and moving in front of the Nightmare. “He's not what you think and I swear in my Mother’s name I'll kill anyone who tries to harm my other half, Jokul Frosti.”

The threat wasn't idle, Jack's staff was at the ready, and he looked fully prepared to go to war to protect the dark being behind him.

Sandy's images were flying too fast for North to catch the slightest hint of what he was saying as the dream sprite moved forward, looking determined, angry, and sad all at once, but he got the gist from Jack's reply.

“No, he's not! The heart of Nightmare is nothing like the Shards!”

Sandy's images came faster, though he stopped in surprise as sand images began to form just as fast in front of Jokul, the dark sands a sharp contrast to Sandy's golden dreamsand. 

That startled both North and Tooth, who let out a little chirp as she fluttered next to North. This was definitely different, and Jokul's sand images seemed clumsy somehow though North wasn't sure how he got that impression, they were shapes made of sand.

“Jack... Jokul. Is it true?” Tooth asked, her voice gentle as she spoke up, fluttering forward to be next to Sandy.

“I've always been a Nightmare Shard,” Jokul answered, dark eyes defensive, tension written in every line of his form even as Aster stepped forward as well.

“Trust me Tooth, North. He's not a danger to anyone. Jokul is... very different from fearlings or the stories I've heard of Nightmare.”

“Alright. I'll trust you Bunny,” Tooth conceded after a moment; North nearly jumped as one of her small, delicate looking hands came to rest on his wrist, pushing his arm down so that he was no longer pointing one of his sabers at Jokul.

“Bunny... you are sure it is not idle hope?” North finally asked. He needed to know for sure that Jokul wouldn't endanger the children of the world, but he had just as much hope that he wouldn't have to fight the boy. If only because he was never sure exactly what new tricks the fearling would pull out next.

“I'm sure North, sure as I can be about anything,” Bunny confirmed, and North found himself nodding, watching Sandy to see how he was taking this.

The dream sprite didn't look happy, but he didn't look very angry anymore either; it was a huge relief considering that the fury in that smaller form had been so out of character it had given North shivers down his spine.

North rubbed his eyes before looking around, shuddering as he took in the fully torn up condition of the nightmare lair. The only things intact in the room were a few stone bridges, the hanging cage, and a small cast iron-looking globe much like North's own back at the Pole. As well, there were the shadow and ice 'sculptures' everywhere, shards of stone, and shattered and twisted steel from the fallen cages and chains.

“Dargomyzhsky... tell me boys do not live here?” North gasped, wincing as the boys glared darkly at him, though Bunny simply chuckled, shaking his head.

“This is their _home_ North,” Bunny said gently, though there was disapproval in his eyes too as he looked around.

“Right. Will not do. Tooth, get as many little tooths as can be spared. I will be getting Yeti. Sandy, help me with these rocks, not appropriate at all for teenager,” North bellowed, startling everyone out of their aggressive mindsets as he set his own mind to something that should have been taken care of long before.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I took so long. I've had a couple of issues come up IRL, and I lost quite a lot of the drive on this story. As such, there's going to be at least one more chapter of this. I hope to have it out within a week or so now that I'm writing again...

It was amazing the differences in the Lair when the Guardians were done. There were no more shards of sharp ice and stone littering the ground, the broken and twisted lead cages had been cleaned away, and the last hanging cage had been replaced with something much larger and presumably more comfortable. 

The hanging wicker globe had a large opening in its side, and was filled with plush pillows and fluffy blankets that both Jokul and Jack were eying nervously. It looked way too soft to trust, but Aster's eyes were lit up with joy at the sight of it, something neither boy could ignore. 

“Wow... I can't believe they took all our stuff.” Jokul complained, looking around at where the floors were smooth and clean, the dust and cobwebs swept away, and the twisted wreckage that had been their home straightened up. 

Even the shadows were different, more diffused by the glowing orbs created by Sandy and Jack once the dream sprite had instructed him how. For now there was an even mixture of cool blue light and warm golden light, though the balance would change as Jack replaced the ones that faded. 

Jokul did not have the knack for making them though Sandy had tried to teach him. 

“It looks good you little hoon.” Aster said chuckling and looking around himself. He had helped clear out most of the stone wreckage by the simply expediency of dropping it into one of his tunnels and letting his sentinels cart it away. 

Jack and Jokul looked around at the other changes the Guardians had made to their living space. The lair had been transformed from something vaguely unsettling and threatening, to something that looked like a demented fun house. How North had been involved, Jokul still wasn't sure, this looked nothing like his Christmas wonderland at the North Pole. 

The Nightmares were delighted, galloping from one end of the enormous cavern at the heart of the lair to the other, and the faint hoof beats and threatening whinnies could be heard from all of the side hallways. The library had been cleaned and dusted, a group of fluffy couches replacing the ratty couch that had been in the center of the room. 

And someone had found an honest to gods bedroom in the winding tunnels, with a creaky lumpy bed and spindly delicate looking furniture. It had of course been replaced with something much larger that North and Sandy deemed more appropriate, Tooth and Aster providing decorative comforting touches so that one room looked far more inviting than anything other than the wicker globe bed in the cavern. 

“You're a hoon, whatever that is.” Jack grumbled, and Jokul found himself chuckling at his 'twins' expression. “Come on, Kangaroo, bed or basket?” 

The winter sprites words made the Pooka blink for a moment, temporarily confused, though in the next heartbeat the two frostlings were pressed against his sides, both grinning impudently up at him. 

“We were just getting somewhere when we were... interrupted.” Jokul leered, carding his fingers through Aster's fur in a movement that was mirrored by Jack, drawing a delicious moan from their chosen mate.

* * *

They didn't quite make it to the bed, and Jack had the feeling that North would be disappointed to find out that his clean up efforts were ruined by the effects of articles of clothing littering the hallways between the cavern and the bedroom. 

Not that North would be seeing it any time soon; as soon as the Guardians had finished their project, the boys had done their level best to shoo them away. Although they seemed to have accepted Jokul's Nightmare nature for now, they had still been nervous, watching Jokul and by extension Jack and Aster like hawks. 

Jack didn't like it, because it made Jokul uncomfortable. Jokul didn't like it because it made Jack cranky. Aster, well Aster was sweet but clueless. 

“I still don't understand you two.” Aster stated, though his voice was a delightful purr so it was hard to take the complaint seriously. They had eventually made it to the bed for a little while, putting that purr into his voice, before they had relocated to somewhere much more comfortable for the boys. 

The look of surprise on Aster's face when he woke up underneath the bed, with a frostling on one side and a fearling on the other, had been priceless. They had quickly wiped the look off his face and shown him what they were capable of under the bed. 

“Come on you hoons... We're going to the Warren for breakies.” Aster stated, rolling over to a position where he could tap the ground with one hind paw. The subsequent drop through the tunnels had both boys yelping even as Aster laughed at them. 

Even though it had started rocky, and Aster had been extremely stubborn about getting a hint, this was looking like it was going to be fun at the very least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes there was supposed to be smut, honest to gods hands touching naughty bits, everyone playing oh so sexy for each other, ect. I'll try really hard to work it into the next chapter, but its hard to write smut right now. Blah...


	11. Chapter 11

The winter days slowly gave way to spring, the warm thaw something both frost boys enjoyed in the embrace of their mate.

As the weather started getting warmer, they had no idea how he managed it, but Aster convinced them to stay in the Warren with him for a little while. It gave them the chance to explore their mates adopted home though, so it was all good.

Except for the unimaginable horrors that made the entire continent a death trap.

Jokul stared at the strange creature frolicking in the river in front of him, wondering why he wasn’t the one coming up with unnatural horrors like that. “Seraphina hates you, doesn't she?” He asked, not looking at his and Jack's furry mate.

“What're you talkin about, mate? Sera's a right doll, made this place all cozy just like Galifrey.” Aster's voice was full of amusement, but Jokul didn't turn to glare at the Easter Bunny, too fascinated by the creature in the water.

“So wait, your home world had places where everything was out to kill you?” Jack asked, also entranced by the horrifying thing before them.

“Right on, mate,” Aster said, still not bothering to hide his amusement. “Doesn't feel like home if somethings not out to do ya' in.”

“You're insane,” Jokul growled, before gesturing at the abomination in front of him. “Seriously, how did Fearlings become Apex Horrors in a universe capable of... this.”

“Hey, no need to be mean. These beauts were a gift from Seraphina.” Aster had the gall to sound just a touch offended.

“Its an unnatural Horror the likes of which even Pitch Black never would have turned loose in the universe.” Jokul's words were punctuated by his gestures at the said abomination splashing happily in the river before them.

“Hey! It is not unnatural! Seraphina is Mother Nature herself and created it, how much more natural do you get?”

“No, what did you say it was again?” Jack asked, a morbid edge of curiosity in his voice.

“Its a Platypus you drongos,” Aster grumbled, even as Jack leaned closer to the duck billed, furred creature in the water.

“Its venomous... I didn't know mammals DID venom.”

“Well, they may not have been mammals, but most of the wildlife on Galifrey was venomous, so I guess Seraphina added that in as a bonus,” Aster said grinning.

“Venomous is a bonus. You know, you keep calling us starkers, but I think you've got it wrong,” Jack chuckled, moving away from the river to where Aster was lounging.

“Well, I can't complain mate.” The Pooka grinned at both his mates, reaching out to drag Jack down by his side. “Hey Frostbite, get over here.”

His paws were already petting down Jack's sides, but he was greedy and wanted both his mates on hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright... So... First statement, I've got half of Burning Summer outlined. I'm looking to start writing it on October 1st, which means I need to finish the outline or I'll lose steam when I get to the part I do have outlined. I've noticed a trend in my writing, I'll write to what I have outlined and then not know where to go (which is why Spring's thing was the big Nightmare instead of more relationship development) or I can't have an outline going in at all and things will get written as they need (which is why Winter rambled a little bit.) 
> 
> Second statement: I'm really have a problem writing hot boys on bunny threesome smut. I don't know why because I really enjoy reading it, but a lot of the time I don't have the drive to actually write the smut. (although when I do, its HOT. Seriously, if I'm in a smut writing mood, the smut is GOOD.) I've got bits and pieces of smut scenes wandering around in my head, but they aren't coming together in a way that I'm satisfied with... so instead you get platapi, because its rule seven of the Evil Authors :3 
> 
> Also, I'm sorry that this was so short. I've been working on other things that ate my brain and blame Kayasurin because she keeps dropping links to the ROTG Kinkmeme board.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think? Reviews actually fuel my creativity!


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